The Five Best American TV Daytime Dramas

Enduring popularity and cultural impact were the major criteria used to select our picks for the five best daytime soaps broadcast on U.S. television. Some choices were easy, while others sparked a difference of opinion among the Cafe staff. Our "Five Best" posts are always a challenge, but also fun to write and among the most widely-read posts at the Cafe. And for those of you who scoff at soap operas, remember these two facts: (1) daytime drama has long been a pioneer in tackling once-controversial subjects such as interracial marriage and AIDS; (2) many film and TV stars honed their craft on daytime TV (e.g., Kathleen Turner, Kevin Bacon, Ted Danson, Laurence Fishburne, Demi Moore, etc.). So, without further pontificating, here are the Cafe's Five Best TV Daytime Dramas.

Melody Thomas Scott and
Eric Braeden.

1. The Young and the Restless. Y&R debuted in 1973 as a half-hour series when CBS asked William and Lee Phillips Bell to create a soap opera for a young female audience. The series didn't catch fire until the early 1980s when the Bells revamped it to focus on the Abbotts and Williams families. Eric Braeden also joined the cast as Victor Newman--and a legendary soap character was born. By 1987, Y&R had ascended to the top spot in the soap opera ratings. Incredibly, it has finished as the highest-rated daytime drama every season since then. Along the way, it became an international hit, spawned a successful spin-off (The Bold and the Beautiful), and even showed up occasionally on CBS's prime time schedule. The theme song, written by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr., originally appeared in the 1971 movie Bless the Beasts and the Children. When ABC used it for a montage for Olympian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, it was released as the instrumental single "Nadia's Theme (The Young and the Restless)" and peaked at #8 on the Billboard chart.

Anthony Geary and Genie Francis.

2. General Hospital. Since its 1963 premiere, GH has had its shares of ups and downs. Yet, no other daytime soap will ever surpass the tremendous pop culture impact of its Luke and Laura storyline. Shockingly, it began when a drunken Luke (Anthony Geary) raped Laura (Genie Francis). However, their story arc took a dramatic turn when the couple subsequently fell in love. By the the time they married in 1981, the huge popularity of the characters made their nuptials a television blockbuster event watched by 30 million viewers. Over the next four decades, Luke and Laura left and returned to Port Charles multiple times--amid kidnappings, murders, and family squabbles. They even had two children, Lucky and Lulu. Yet, while GH never recaptured the magic of their first pairing, it remained a popular daytime drama with younger viewers. Over the years, it furthered the singing careers of stars Rick Springfield and Jack Wagner and spawned the hit songs "All I Need" (Wagner), "Baby, Come to Me" (Patti Austin and James Ingram), and "Think of Laura" (Christopher Cross). GH was also a favorite soap for celebrity guest appearances and featured stints from Elizabeth Taylor, Roseanne Barr, and, recently, James Franco.

Jonathan Frid.

3. Dark Shadows. Dan Curtis created Dark Shadows for ABC in 1966 as a contemporary Gothic soap set in the New England town of Collinsport. The show didn't perform well initially, so in an effort to liven things up, a plotline involving a ghost was added. Viewer interest perked up a little, so Curtis and head writer Art Wallace introduced a vampire in episode 211--and a pop culture icon was born in the form of Barnabus Collins. As the conflicted bloodsucker still pining for his beloved (but long-dead) Josette, Canadian actor Jonathan Frid made Barnabas alternately charming and cruel. Arguably, Frid was daytime drama's first superstar--his popularity even prompted a House of Dark Shadows theatrical film (plus a less-successful sequel, Night of Dark Shadows, without Frid). Although ABC canceled Dark Shadows after just five years, it has been revived numerous times in film, television, and audio recordings. Other actors who have played Barnabas include Ben Cross and Johnny Depp.

Kim Zimmer.

4. The Guiding Light. The genre's longest running TV series actually began as an NBC radio drama in 1937. It moved to television in 1952, where it was a mainstay on the CBS daytime schedule for the next 57 years! Soap opera pioneer Irna Phillips created The Guiding Light, which initially focused on Reverend John Rutledge, who lived in a Chicago suburb, and the Holden family. The show's title was derived from an old lantern that Reverend Rutledge placed on his desk near a window to serve as a "guiding light" for others. Over the years, the Bauer family took center stage on The Guiding Light and the setting ultimately shifted to Springfield, Illinois. The show's length expanded from fifteen minutes to a half-hour and finally one hour in 1977. In 1983, actress Kim Zimmer joined Guiding Light as Reva Shayne--the show's most popular character. As Reva, who was married nine times to seven different men, Zimmer won four Daytime Emmy Awards as Lead Actress.

Susan Lucci.

5. All My Children. One could make a case for including Days of Our Lives, Edge of Night, or a number of other soaps in the No. 5 position on this list. I gave the nod to All My Children based on Susan Lucci's emergence as a star outside the genre. Her made-for-TV movies, Dancing With the Stars appearance, and 18 Emmy nominations before finally winning made her a household name. It wasn't surprising when TV Guide ranked her #36 on its 1996 list of the 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Yet, while Susan Lucci became AMC's star, the series also benefited from a strong cast consisting of veteran performers from film (Ruth Warrick from Citizen Kane) and prime time TV (David Canary from Bonanza). It had its share of celebrity fans as well, with the most prominent being Carol Burnett, who has played characters on the show on at least three occasions.