Fans’ Jaw-Dropping Take On Soap Opera Surprises Explained!!

Even in the days of the Internet with spoilers and video previews, soaps can still surprise viewers once in a while.

The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) didn’t promote Sheila’s (Kimberlin Brown) return in advance, and The Young and the Restless (YR) did the same with Alice (Tamara Clatterbuck) and her involvement in Zack’s (Ryan Ashton) sex-trafficking ring/app.

But do fans actually enjoy these unexpected developments? The answer we got from over 12,000 of viewers will shock you!

Spoiled Rotten
A whopping 71% of you admit you’re addicted to spoilers. You know what’s going to happen days — sometimes months — before it actually does.

For instance, Arianne Zucker’s (Nicole) departure from Days Of Our Lives (DOOL) and Steve Burton’s (Steamboat Jason) return to General Hospital (GH) were promoted so far ahead of their actually happening, it turned into an anti-climax.

That’s why when a true surprise actually rears its head, something the shows managed to keep under wraps, you find it all that much more thrilling!

Astonish Me
Surprises are why 14% of the audience watch soaps! Will they or won’t they, whodunnit, comings and goings — you have your suspicions, but the fun is in waiting to see whether or not they come true. You deliberately stay away from spoilers and hate anyone who ruins it for you.

Predictable Unpredictability
And then there are the 13% who hate surprises. Real life is unpredictable enough. If you want endings you don’t know in advance, you can watch sports or at least reality television. Soaps are supposed to be like comfort food. You know in advance what you’re going to get, and you know that you’re going to like it.

When a soap slips one past you — like the shocking reveal about B&B’s Maya’s (Karla Mosley) past — you feel like your spoilers have let you down. Soaps are supposed to be about betraying the characters, not the viewers!