What Soap Opera do you remember watching . It can be a day or night Soap. Mine was The Guiding Light. And you?

[debm55]

[Deep State Witch]

1. GL fan here!

I started watching it back in the late 70's - early 80's. One of the three members of the hot teen love triangle was Kevin Bacon. I got to meet the other one, John Wesley Shipp, a few years ago. He's a sweetie, and a total lefty.

[debm55]

3. Thank you very much, And don't forget, Nola

[Deep State Witch]

11. Loved Her!

The actress who played Nola died a few years ago. JWS paid her a lovely tribute.

I think my favorite character from that era was Reva Shayne. She was sassy, independent, and didn't give a crap what anyone thought of her.

[debm55]

14. Oh, I didn't know Nola died. Thank you for that sad news.

[Walleye]

2. My grandmother always religiously watched "As the World Turns"

[debm55]

6. Thank you very much Walleye for sharing with us.

[hlthe2b]

4. College days, The Young & the Restless. My Mom's was "As the World Turns"...

My sister watched General Hospital or sometimes "Days of Our Lives"...

I find it bizarre that day time soaps have all but "died" out while these so-called "Reality TV" shows are so popular. But, whatever.

[debm55]

8. Thank you hlthe2b, I didn't watch soaps in college as I didn't have a TV. But I did watch The GL and The Young and

Restless while on breaks, The only reality show I watch is The Amazing Race. as I like to see the cultures of the countries they visit.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

16. What is unusual about soaps is how.the cast didnt change over 20, 30, 40 years

It's like they aged in real time with the watcher.

My mom watched them. Left for college, returning for holidays "oh there is the same actor, 5 years older!"

[debm55]

19. That is funny and true, Thank you very much, BlueWaveNeverEnd.

[LoisB]

5. All My Children

[debm55]

10. Thank you very much, LoisB. I would sometimes watch that soap.

[debm55]

20. Thank you very much, LoisB. for sharing with us.

[Onthefly]

7. Peyton Place

The Secret Storm, though, seemed more dark and sinister.

[debm55]

21. Thank you very much, Onthefly. If I remember correctly. Peyton Place was on at night. Also, The Secret Storm was on,

While I was in Kindergarten.

[Onthefly]

28. You remember correctly.

[debm55]

46. Thank you , Onthefly.

[Jilly_in_VA]

9. Two, really

although it dropped to one once I started working, and then none.

"The Young and the Restless" from its inception until I started working, and then "General Hospital" until my kids were in high school and I went to work in home health, then none.

[debm55]

22. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Jilly_in_VA . All of the soaps were CBS shows. So I never watched General

Hospital.

[sinkingfeeling]

12. Dark Shadows, 1966-1971.

[pandr32]

27. As a kid I watched that!

It came on in the afternoon where I lived and I could watch it after school.

[Ferryboat]

55. Same here my entry into soaps

In high school General Hospital, Luke and Larura era.
Pinnacle of my watching ended with Mary Hartman Mary Hartman.

[pandr32]

76. I'd forgotten Mary Hartman Mary Hartman!

I loved Carol Burnett's "As the Stomach Churns" and "Mama's Family"--the first spoofed soap operas, and the second wasn't really one, but the episodes sort of connected their story like one.

[debm55]

78. HAHAHHAHAHA. I remember that skit on the Carol Burnett show. Her show was so funny.

[Ilsa]

35. I watched probably 10 seasons of DS. Then the

stories got too weird even for me. It was too difficult keeping up with multiple names for each actor as the story shifted through time periods or the characters time-traveled.

[debm55]

51. Thank you very much for sharing with us, llsa

[debm55]

45. Thank you very much, sinkingfeeling.

[debm55]

47. Thank you very much sinkingfeeling.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

64. Me too!

Would rush home from school to see Barnabus Collins!

[some_of_us_are_sane]

66. Yes!

We'd all rush home after school to catch the latest on Barnabus Collins, Quentin and Angelique!

[FalloutShelter]

13. Three actually....

full disclosure, I worked as an art restorer out of my home for twenty three years (1977-2000), and I used to have the soaps on for background noise:
Another World
Ryans Hope
All My Children

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

17. Such strange names for tv shows "another world", "as the world turns"

"Guiding light", "young and restless"

[debm55]

52. Thank you very much, FalloutShelter. for sharing the selections.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

15. My mom watched the CBS soaps..

So they were in the background of my life.

[debm55]

18. Mine too. Thank you BlueWaveNeverEnd for sharing with us. My mother and grandmother did the same.

[debm55]

23. Mine three.

[Ritabert]

25. Mainly All My Children and One Life to Live

[Endlessmike56]

26. Days of Our Lives

Watched it when I was laid off from the mill in the 80’s. Back when we could only get 3 channels lol

[BlueKota]

29. I watched a bunch.

My favorite was probably General Hospital during the 80s. I also watched All My Children, One Life toLive Ryan's Hope, Santa Barbara and Days of Our Lives. They were all on and off over the years. I stuck with GH and All My Children the longest.
I watched Days primarily due to Drake Hogestyn, and I actually got to meet him in person once. He was a sweet and handsome guy. May he RIP. I stopped watching Days long prior to his death because I didn't care for Marlena, and didn’t like they reunited his ch aracter with her romantically.

I have not watched any soaps since they ABC canceled All My Children. I basically had lost interest in all the rest even before that. Too many cast and storyline changes I didn't like.

[happybird]

30. Another World

After it was canceled we watched Santa Barbara. Mom was a Days of Our Lives fan when I was very small so I just stuck with the NBC soaps.

[applegrove]

31. Another World, Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives.

Last edited Mon Jan 12, 2026, 02:58 PM - Edit history (1)

Was over them by the time I was 23.

[debm55]

50. Thank you very much, applegrove. That's about the time I went cold turkey.

[OAITW r.2.0]

32. Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.

Closest thing to a soap opera I ever watched.

[debm55]

49. Thank you very much, OAITW r.2.0

[SheltieLover]

33. All My Children. Used to record & watch with adult daughters

[debm55]

48. Thank you very much, SheltieLover, for sharing with us.

[MIButterfly]

34. General Hospital.

Last edited Mon Jan 12, 2026, 04:08 PM - Edit history (1)

I started watching it when I was 12 years old back in the 60s. Then All My Children and One Life to Live came along and I watched them too. Of course, I was still watching GH during the Luke & Laura glory years in the 80s; everybody was back then. When I decided to stop sitting in front of the TV for three hours every afternoon, I narrowed it down to All My Children. Then I switched careers and started working in the day and never watched any soaps again.

It's funny. Whenever I would catch a minute or two of a soap I didn't watch, I would think all the actors were lousy, but on my soaps, I thought all the actors were good! I guess we really do see what we want to see.

[debm55]

42. Very true, MIButterfly. I went cold turkey when we adopted my son.

[MuseRider]

36. I grew up taking naps on the floor

in front of the TV so my Mom could watch As The World Turns. That was the big one. My Mom and my Grandmother would call each other and talk about it after every show. There was one more that evades me now but ATWT was the big one. If it was still on I would probably still watch it. Odd little shows that felt like family after so long.

[debm55]

41. That's sweet. Thank you MuseRider for sharing with us.

[Mad_Dem_X]

37. General Hospital

Primarily because of Dr. Noah Drake (Rick Springfield)!

[debm55]

38. HAHAHAHHAHA. thank you Mad_Dem_X. That was cool having him on General Hospital. BUT that was on the same time as

The Guiding Light.

[MIButterfly]

43. And John Stamos certainly didn't hurt the eyes, either!

[debm55]

44. HAHHAHAHAh. Agree, MIButterfly.

[kimbutgar]

39. All my Children

Amused by Ericka Kane. And whenever I see a commercial for Kelly and Michael show I remember them from AMC days and how they met there and are still married !

[debm55]

40. Thank you very much, for sharing. with us, kimbutgar.

[doc03]

53. I guess maybe Dallas if that qualifies, have never watched daytime shows.

[debm55]

63. Yes, thank you doc03. it qualifies as it was a night time soap. Thank you for sharing.

[perfessor]

54. Suits

😜

[debm55]

60. Thank you very much perfessor for sharing.

[Srkdqltr]

56. Days Of Our Lives and Another World.

[debm55]

59. Thank you for sharing with us, Srkdqltr.

[madamesilverspurs]

57. Way, waaaay back . . .

I watched "Edge of Night" with my grandmother. Black and white, and the sets were minimal. Many years later, my mother and I would watch "Dark Shadows", both of us sighing over Quentin. After that, my school/work schedule didn't leave much time for daytime viewing; but I remember college roommates who scheduled classes so they could follow their favorite story lines.


.

[debm55]

58. Thank you very much, madamesilverspurs. I remember The Edge of Night. So I go way back too

[some_of_us_are_sane]

65. Yep to both of those!

Those soap operas were balm to the problems in the real world. We'd slip out of our own and into theirs. Relaxation from every day strife.

[debm55]

67. Thank you very much , some_of_us_are_sane. I think you got it.

[debm55]

68. You are my 56.000 post.

[whathehell]

61. Love of Life, Search for Tomorrow, and

Guiding Light.

[debm55]

62. Thank you very much, whathehell.for sharing with us.

[Rizen]

69. I don't usually watch soap operas but...

Ugly Betty was basically a soap.

[debm55]

70. Thank you very much, Rizen,for sharing with us.

[TBF]

71. General Hospital

but we are talking 40+ years ago! lol At that time, though, I was pretty addicted!

[debm55]

72. Thank you very much, TBF. I think you are right about being addicted to them

[QueerDuck]

73. I was hooked on All My Children in the mid 70's.

This was pre-VCR days and when school started up again, I'd use a cassette recorder that was plugged into a lamp-timer that would record the audio. When I returned home from school, a small group of us would listen to the "radio show" of what happened in Pine Valley.

[TBF]

74. For me it was 80s (I was in high school & college that decade)

we would literally schedule our classes around our favorites as much as we could and gather in folk's rooms with our lunch to watch together in the dorms! (at that time there weren't that many tv's in rooms, and even fewer computers!)

[debm55]

75. Thank you very much, QueerDuck. And Ericka's 10 husbands, I was addicted at one time. I went cold turkey.

[hlthe2b]

77. Interesting seeing titles I'd forgotten over the years. One missing: "One Life To Live"...

I think either my sister or late Mother might have watched that. It was canceled but one of the last of the "batch" to be canceled.

When I see actors that were famous for various SOAPS- reported to have died, I often recognize their pictures. Even though I never watched, I can't help but think how many did watch them over the years, since these were daily. SOAP stars really earned their money given how many episodes they would shoot in a typical year, compared to movies or even night time series.

[debm55]

79. Yes, I was shocked as the actress who played Nola on Guiding Light was my favorite, She also worked on Broadway

[Doc_Technical]

80. Upstairs Downstairs

I became a fan of Jean Marsh.

[debm55]

81. Thank you Doc_Technical

[artemisia1]

82. "Days of Our Lives" during the Bo and Hope years. I was in my late teens and a guy but liked the storyline as well

as the wicked Stefano Demera (SP?).

[debm55]

84. Thank you, artemisia1 for sharing with us.

[ArnoldLayne]

83. Dallas and The Young & The Restless.

[debm55]

85. Thank you very much for sharing with us, ArnoldLayne.

[OldBaldy1701E]

86. As a child we were addicted to 'Dark Shadows'!

We used to come home every day, do our homework one the kitchen table and always trying to be done by 3:50 p.m., because it came on at 4:00.

Most everyone at my school was on board the 'Luke and Laura' train, so General Hospital was a big thing at that time. We watched it all through that arc.

[debm55]

88. Thank you OldBaldy1701E for sharing.

[SorellaLaBefana]

87. The Edge of Night :)

LIVE broadcast of sort of a police/lawyer procedural crime show. Watched it whenever was home from school 'sick' in the late 50s.

More interesting to me than the usual soap plots with endless folk having brain tumors showing up in the illegitimate daughter of the long lost sibling they were having an affair with. Bit more relatable for me.