What Happened To Soap Operas? Why Are Reality Shows Turned Into Soaps?

If you’re a Millennial like me or older, then you definitely grew up watching soaps with your grandmother/ great grandmother and parents. I grew up watching the following soaps such as Days Of Our Lives, Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Young & The Restless, Guiding Light, One Life To Live, General Hospital, and so many others back in the day. As a toddler Days Of Our Lives and Beverly Hills 90210 stayed on my tv, it was my mom’s favorite thing to watch. I also loved seeing the Beverly Hills 90210 intro, I would always run to the tv when the intro came on. Whenever I used to visit my great grandmother, she was always watching Young & The Restless and Days Of Our Lives while I was playing with her dollhouse. Having those memories of seeing my great grandmother watching her favorite soaps is very precious to me.

Whenever I was over at my grandparents house, my uncle would have Melrose Place on the tv. The scene I remember is when Kimberly Shaw removed her wig. I didn’t know what happened because I was very young at the time…that scene was very dramatic. As I got older I was able to watch soaps for myself. Watching the whole series of Beverly Hills 90210 in my early twenties was such a journey…. I will talk about the series someday! Same with Melrose Place…..it was so much messiness and drama! I loved it but it really had me on the edge of my seat, I can only imagine how the teens and adults felt watching that scene with Kimberly planting a bomb in the apartment buildings. That scene was so crazy, people were left wondering if everyone would escape or die! I really miss soaps like that, having you on the edge of your seat and thinking about it all weekend. I know we still have Days Of Our Lives, Bold and The Beautiful, General Hospital, etc but these Soaps from back in the day were so amazing! One soap that had me really on edge was Dynasty! Joan Collins as Alexis Carrington is the most iconic character ever! She really played that role really well! Diahann Carroll as Dominique Deveraux…man she equally matched Alexia and their back and forth words for each other were awesome! The show was excellent…but it was crazy. Too many characters being replaced and the later storylines were not so good in my opinion. The show is legendary but I wish they did something different for the later seasons.

Although I enjoy watching Reality Shows, it’s not the same as watching a soap. Some of the shows are such a mess, but seeing people saying that they’re the new soaps. It’s not even close to the soaps we all grew up watching. Seeing less soaps is kind of sad, because we are in the age of streaming and such so not many people are watching soaps unless they’re older people who’ve been watching for years. I’m so glad that I grew up during the prime of Soaps during its peak. I think it’s peak was during the 80s but during the 90s it reached the ultimate peak with amazing stories and plots. I will always be grateful for being introduced to soaps, it’s helped me as a writer and influenced me in a way as well. If you grew up watching soaps with your family…you’re amazing and hope you have a wonderful day! Peace!