The History of Soap Operas and Key conventions

Soap operas have not always been on television they started in the US in the 1930s and were serialised dramas on the radio. The name Soap Opera came from newspapers as soaps were sponsored by household products like soap and washing powder. Now soap operas are extremely popular and have become more expanded globally. They now dominate peak-time mainstream
TV schedules.

For a long period of time UK soap operas only aired two nights a week. With the original crossroads being the exception as it started being produced 5 days a week in the 1960s but then got reduced.Most soaps started with less episodes showing a week then increased to more when they had developed a bigger fan base. For example Brookside began with two episodes a week in 1982 but increased to three in 1990. However, Coronation Street started a trend where they aired three times a week in 1989 this then increased to four in 1996. Both, Emmerdale and Eastenders followed this pattern, Eastenders in 1994 and Emmerdale in 1997. After Neighbours being imported it now airs five episodes a week, and they are shown at 1.45pm and repeated at 5.30pm. This obviously costs more money however would attract a wider audience as people have more opportunities to watch it, making the fan base larger.

Soap operas such as Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks also run a weekend omnibus, this gives a wider range of people the opportunity to watch the soap. For example people in the demographic groupings B and C1 are not necessarily targeted because their jobs genuinely lead to them being more busy however, at the weekend they might have the opportunity to catch up.

The first soap opera in the UK was The Archers' which was on Radio 4 in 1951.


Facts about soap operas:


They have a serial narrative told through a series of episodes

This type of narrative often leaves each episode on a cliff-hanger, leaving the viewers wanting more. These types of narratives keep the viewers interested and builds the fan base, because they always watch the next episode. The viewer would also talk to their friends about the storyline also which is part of the Uses and Gratifications theory by Denis McQuail.He states that one of the main audiences needs is social interaction, this can be identified in soaps as viewers can talk about soaps with each other.

They happen in real time

Most soaps happen in real time so they would celebrate Christmas around the same time as the viewer for instance. This creates verisimilitude that viewers can identify with and gives them a sense of belonging.

They focus on family struggles and conflicts

Soaps focus on story lines which viewers can identify with in everyday lives. For example, the majority of people can empathise with a character who has an argument with a family member because most viewers have witnessed this event in their life. This is also a part of the Uses and Gratifications theory as Personal Identity.

They are cheap to produce

Soaps are reasonably cheap to produce compared to films and other types of television programmes such as dramas. This is because they keep a steady flow of actors which are not paid extortionate amounts as they are only B list celebrities. Also they only use the same setting to film for example the pub, and houses. For the amount of times the set is used the money spent on it would be less significant as the payment is usually done and the set is used for years.

They are usually based around a neighbourhood

Basing soaps around a neighbourhood is a common convention, this is because it is easy to link the characters together and also the viewers will begin to recognize the settings, characters and social points making them feel part of the neighbourhood and giving them a sense of belonging which is a need defined in the Uses and Gratifications under personal identity.

They have typical social points

Conventional social points are the local pub (The Queen Vic- Eastenders) the laundrette, the park, the cafe and the restaurant.

They have a well-known theme tune

Example of the well known theme tune is Eastenders, everyone even those who do not watch it in the UK would recognize the theme tune to this soap. It is simple but very memorable this needs to be considered when creating a theme tune for our soap.



This is an example of the shots used in soap operas:

They use simple shots- usually two shots as they are easiest to present conversation

This is a two shot of two characters from Eastenders, these shots are used throughout soap operas as they are an easy shot to show conversation. Conversation is a key element in soap operas this produces verisimilitude as conversation is something everybody can relate to.

Also the over the shoulder shot is used in soaps as part as a shot reverse shot, this is used when two characters are having a conversation and the shot reverses to a shot over the shoulder of the person listening to the other person.

Typical characters featured in soaps:

A boss figure- usually a male

A Feisty female

A Jack-the-lad

A strong women who is actually has a kind heart

A gossiping old woman

An ethnic family

A Homosexual couple

Soaps around the world-

Not all soaps are open-ended for example Latin American soaps are not open-ended and they are called 'telenovela' and audiences often tune in to find out what happens in the end.
In America there is a sub-genre of supersoaps, these are soaps with wealthy scheming families, but the metanarrative is still the same. These soaps seek to attract a wider audience.

Narratives in soaps:

The meta-narrative - this is a narrative that has many plot lines relating to different characters in a soap.

Information gained from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_opera

Information sheet from Mrs Manzi-Davies