There are lots of reasons soap operas are addicting, even for the people who don't watch them regularly. You may not realize you have a soap opera addiction, but I bet you know why you watch your favorite soaps every day. When I was a kid, I got addicted to the soaps every summer – and that was about … well, let's not talk about how long ago that was. I don't watch them now, even though I work at home and theoretically could. On the rare occasions I glimpse fifteen minutes or so, however, I still recognize the characters and the plots! I'm just giving you hints at the biggest reasons soap operas are addicting – keep reading for the juicy tidbits. Cliffhanger!
One of the main reasons soap operas are addicting has to do with the story lines. They last forever! They evolve over time, so something you watched years ago could still affect the characters now. Enemies become friends and then frenemies, and viewers stay glued to their screens, just to see the next evolution of a particular plot line.
These long-standing plots engage audiences with intricate relationships and complex characters. They witness births, deaths, marriages, and betrayals that span generations. You invest emotionally in these characters, with their fortunes feeling almost like your own. Soap operas can be like a fascinating book you can't put down. Each episode is like a new chapter that's part of a bigger tale, and the writers are masters at the cliffhanger, always leaving you desperate to find out 'What happens next?' Plus, the more you watch, the more invested you become, since you’re accumulating years of backstory and character development. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Soap operas are really great about keeping characters on the shows, even if the actors change. Does anyone remember Luke and Laura? I was just a little girl but I remember people clamoring for their return for ages after they left the show. When they came back and got married? Fans went nuts! Talk about loyalty! And, if I'm not mistaken, isn't little Lucky still a pretty major role?
The Corinthos family. The Quartermaines. The Spencers (again). The Buchanans (always). Soap opera families are more recognizable than mafia families, and they mean business. Their dramas are serious – so much so that it's not uncommon for them to last 30 years or more! What's your favorite soap opera family feud?
No shows in the history of television have more cliffhangers than soap operas. They like to take you right up to the edge on a Friday afternoon and then leave you dangling, wondering what's going to happen. Another coma? Another evil twin? What's going on? Suspense like that definitely keeps viewers coming back!
As do the love stories! Soaps like General Hospital, One Life to Live, and As the World Turns turned housewifely afternoons into a steamy, sordid hotbed of passions. I can't even fault them, because As the World Turns put some of the very first LGBT-friendly romance footage on daytime TV. Yay Luke and Noah!
Besides, when you're home sick, watching the kids, doing laundry, or working at your computer, soaps are the ideal distraction. You know they'll be interesting, but you also know you don't really have to pay attention the whole time. Watch it again tomorrow or even a week from today, and you'll likely get caught up pretty quickly. You can get away from the soaps for years and figure out what you missed within a few weeks!
TV is ever changing. Shows come and go, their time slots changes, their stars leave or come back. The latter happens with the soaps too, but other than that, your favorites have likely been on at the same time or the same channel for years, right? There's comfort in that. There's comfort in the familiar, in fact, whether it's a familiar family or a familiar time slot. It draws people.
Watching a soap opera is a fantastic form of escapism as well. If you don't have time to get lost in a book, then you can slip away into a dramatic, theatrical, passionate fantasy for an hour or two. No harm in that if it makes you feel better, right? Sometimes you just need to be a Buchanan.
Soaps pull you in and they keep you there. I mean, the fact that I still remember hot-ass Sonny from General Hospital after so many years (and sorry, but how hot is Michael, too?)? That's crazy! Do you watch the soaps? Let me know which one is your favorite and how long you've been watching!