Love in the afternoon? Eh, who needs it? We don’t watch soaps for the love stories or the fantasy. We watch it for the corporate espionage and the fashion shows and the mob battles. Uh… right?
Soaps were created to be entertaining and aspirational escapism (and, well, to sell soap, duh), but, along the way, they picked up a reputation for basically being television’s version of a romance novel. Except soaps are so much more than that. There’s family drama, there’s medical drama, there’s social action drama.
Which version do you prefer? Over 6,000 viewers answered the question: Do you think soaps focus too much on romantic relationships?
There’s More To Life Than This — Don’t Ask Me What
It came down to the wire but, in the end, 54% of you said, yes! Give us something else in addition to lovers, love triangles, and breakups. Heck, the soaps are trying!
On Days Of Our Lives (DOOL), Abigail (Marci Miller) and Gabi (Camilla Banus) are trying to keep their friendship together despite both being in love with the same man (it’s complicated; and equally both of their faults).
On The Young and the Restless (YR), we’ve got some sex-trafficking to distract us. The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) has the thrill of competitive real estate, and General Hospital (GH) — well, there’s always a gunfight you can count on. Is that what you’re looking for?
Love Makes the World Go Round
However, an almost equal number, 45%, insist that love stories are what keep you tuning in. Whether it’s longterm couples like DAYS’ Marlena (Deidre Hall) and John (Drake Hogysten), or will-they-or-won’t-they Mariah (Camryn Grimes) and Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) on Y&R, that’s the soap opera sweet spot.
No one cares if Forrester or Spectra sell more dresses on B&B, it’s Thomas (Pierson Fodé) and Sally (Courtney Hope) who have the rooting value. You heart romance. Period.
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