Michael Maloney, who writes for the Soap Hub website, says soaps 'offer consistency in a world that doesn't always have consistency.' 'There's a sort of continuity to it that people find really comforting and really reassuring,' Price said. Show stalwarts include Kin Shriner and Genie Francis, who arrived in Port Charles - the fictitious New York city where the show takes place - in 1977 as Scott and Laura. But with more people stuck at home, its ratings soared - nearly to the top of the daytime charts.ĪBC did not respond to requests for comment about when production could resume on 'General Hospital,' which boasts famous alumni like Demi Moore and Ricky Martin.Ĭalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he would soon unveil plans for the entertainment industry, but noted there were likely to be delays in Los Angeles.įor Mary Sue Price, who worked as a writer on 'General Hospital' from the late 1990s to 2012, the show's enduring popularity stems from its 'tradition of telling really strong stories' and the longevity of its characters. 'General Hospital' regularly draws slightly more than two million viewers a day. an hour of me time,' says 65-year-old Donna Walsh Costello, who had been watching the show more or less since the beginning. Storylines - which once focused largely on romantic hijinks and family drama - have expanded to include everything from the AIDS crisis to transgender acceptance to #MeToo harassment.

Soap operas began as radio shows before migrating to television.

That leaves NBC's 'Days of Our Lives' - which shoots episodes months in advance - as the last soap standing through the summer and into the fall. 'The Bold and the Beautiful' and 'The Young and the Restless' - which air on CBS - ran out of shows last month. The team behind the show re-edited episodes, adding lengthy flashbacks to make their new material last longer, and aired reruns of classic episodes on Fridays - but the well has run dry. Social distancing on a soap set? Impossible. 'So not having that key part of my everyday life is hard.'įilming on 'General Hospital' came to a screeching halt in March, as it did for the vast majority of TV shows and films in progress, when businesses moved into lockdown mode.

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