The 40 most popular 1990s soap TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Felicity
1998 · US
Felicity Porter, a sensitive and intelligent girl from the San Francisco Bay Area, decides to give up a slot at Stanford University's pre-med program to follow her long time crush to college in New York City. Things get even more complicated when she meets her dorm's resident advisor and they fall in love.


Young Hearts
1995 · BR
Malhação is a Brazilian television series for the teenage audience. The soap started in 1995, and was set in a fictional Gym Club called Malhação on Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Through the years the location varied slightly. Although the name of the soap remains the same, it is now set in the Múltipla Escolha High School.


Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
1990 · NL
Goede tijden, slechte tijden, also known as GTST, is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, revolving around the lives of the families Alberts, Sanders, De Jong, Van Houten and Bouwhuis. It all takes place in the fictional town of Meerdijk.


Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
1992 · DE
Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten is a long-running German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL in 1992. The programme concerns the lives of a fictional neighborhood in Germany's capital city Berlin. Over the years the soap opera tends to have an overhaul of young people in their late teens and early twenties; targeting a young viewership.


Family Affairs
1997 · UK
Focuses on the lives of residents in the fictional London suburb of Charnham.


Passions
1999 · US
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008. Passions follows the lives and loves, and various romantic and paranormal adventures of the residents of Harmony. Story-lines center around the interactions among members of its multi-racial core families — the African American Russells, white Cranes and Bennetts, and half-Mexican half-Irish Lopez-Fitzgeralds — as well as the supernatural including town witch Tabitha Lenox. Created by writer James E. Reilly and produced by NBC Studios, the series was subsequently picked up by direct broadcast satellite service DirecTV, which broadcast new episodes airing on its exclusive channel The 101. In December 2007, DirecTV decided not to renew its contract for the series, and the studio was unable to sell the show elsewhere. The final episode aired on DirecTV on August 7, 2008.


Egoli: Place of Gold
1992 · ZA
A South African television soap opera created by Franz Marx which revolves around the daily ups, downs, trials and tribulations of a handful of families in and around Johannesburg (which is often referred to as eGoli - the City of Gold)


Holby City
1999 · UK
Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.


Secret Lives
1999 · FI
Salatut elämät (Secret Lives) is a Finnish television soap opera that premiered on MTV3 on 25 January 1999. The series' storylines follow the daily lives of several families who live in the same apartment block in Helsinki.


In All Friendship
1998 · DE
German soap opera about the staff of the fictional hospital "Sachsenklinik" in the city of Leipzig.


Melrose Place
1992 · US
Follow the lives of a group of young adults living in a brownstone apartment complex on Melrose Place, in Los Angeles, California.


Sunset Beach
1997 · US
Sunset Beach is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from January 6, 1997 to December 31, 1999. The show follows the loves and lives of the people living in the Orange County coastal area named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California. Although there is a town in California called Sunset Beach, the show's beach scenes were shot on nearby Seal Beach. The show was co-produced by NBC and Spelling Television. Sunset Beach won two Daytime Emmy Awards and was nominated another eleven times. The show also received twenty-two nominations for various other awards.


Chicago Hope
1994 · US
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama television series, created by David E. Kelley. It ran on CBS from September 18, 1994, to May 4, 2000. The series is set in a fictional private charity hospital in Chicago, Illinois.


Dawson's Creek
1998 · US
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama that portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college.


Isidingo
1998 · ZA
South African soap opera centering around the lives of the wealthy Haines family, the Matabanes, and the lives of the inhabitants of the mining town Horizon Deep.


The King of The Cattle
1996 · BR
In the struggle for land a vicious feud erupts between two men, who commit their families to a war without truce. Over two generations they are moved by love and by hatred in this epic saga of love for the land.


Klan
1997 · PL
Family is the most important thing, and the children of Władysław and Maria Lubicz from Warsaw can always count on each other, no matter what surprises life offers.


Shortland Street
1992 · NZ
The lives and loves of the residents of Ferndale.


Chiquititas
1995 · AR
The series focuses about orphans living in a manor, known as Rincón de Luz, where they're guided by a young woman that represents a maternal figure for them.


Mind Our Own Business
1993 · HK
The frugal and harsh father, CHENG SAM, and the open-minded and generous mother, LEUNG HANG MUI, are a lively couple in the family. Other family members include their lazy and rude son, YUEN YUK PO; their optimistic and irresponsible daughter, YUEN YUET CHU; their defiant and domineering daughter-in-law, HO SHUK KIANG, and their honest and confident son-in-law, YEUNG JO GAI. Their granddaughter, MUN HEI, is a free-spirited girl while their grandson, MUN CHOI, is a cunning and opportunistic businessman. The family's fortunes are tied to their partners, CHU CHI WAH and CHAN WING MAN. Together, they form a tapestry of modern urban life.


Verbotene Liebe
1995 · DE
Verbotene Liebe is a German television soap opera Verbotene Liebe was initially based on original story and character outlines from the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of Jan Brandner and Julia von Anstetten, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant of the fact that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title.


Golden Dream
1993 · BR
After losing custody of her daughter, Claudia tries to rebuild her life and meets the brothers Lucas, with whom she falls in love, and the villainous Jorge, who wants to win her over.


The City
1995 · US
The City is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from November 13, 1995 to March 28, 1997. The show follows the loves and lives of the survivors of the Corinth Serial Killer as they all moved from the Pennsylvania town of Corinth to an apartment building in New York's SoHo district. The show was a spinoff of Loving, also co-created by Agnes Nixon and head writers, Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown. The show won two Daytime Emmy Awards in 1996.


Hollyoaks
1995 · UK
The daily soap that follows the loves, lives and misdemeanours of a group of people living in the Chester village of Hollyoaks where anything could, and frequently does, happen...


Für alle Fälle Stefanie
1995 · DE
Für alle Fälle Stefanie is an German medical drama television series created by Werner Krämer that aired on Sat.1 from May 15, 2005 to August 29, 2005. It was produced by Novafilm Fernsehproduktion. Für alle Fälle Stefanie follows the professional and personal life of nurse Stefanie Engel, then Stephanie Wilde and for a short time Fanny 'Stephanie' Stephan. The show was a giant success for the network and had around seven, in later years, five million viewers on a weekly basis. It won the Goldene Kamera award in 1997 and the Bavarian TV Award in 1996.


Na dobre i na złe
1999 · PL
Na dobre i na złe is a Polish television medical drama series, broadcast on TVP2 since November 7, 1999. Currently in its 15th season and with over 520 episodes, it is the longest-running primetime drama on Polish TV. The show revolves around the lives of doctors and patients of a hospital in Leśna Góra near Warsaw. Na dobre i na złe has been very popular among the viewers, despite recent criticism on its lack of originality. It won the "Telekamery" award for the best TV series in 2001, 2002 and 2003.


The Next Victim
1995 · BR
A young law student starts to work as a detective, decided to uncover the identity behind a series of murders, as well as who is next.


Chiquititas
1997 · AR
Chiquititas is a Brazilian children's musical telenovela co-produced by SBT and Telefe and originally broadcast on SBT from July 28, 1997, to January 19, 2001. Based on the original Argentine telenovela created by Cris Morena, it was adapted for Brazilian television by Ecila Pedroso for the first season and Caio de Andrade for the subsequent seasons. Starring Flávia Monteiro, Fernanda Souza, and a large ensemble cast, the series ran for five seasons and became one of the most successful children's productions in Brazilian television history. The story follows a group of orphaned children living at the Raio de Luz orphanage, where they find love, friendship, and hope under the care of the kind-hearted Carolina "Carol" Correia. As the children face abandonment, family conflicts, first love, and personal challenges, they rely on music, imagination, and friendship to overcome adversity while dreaming of finding a family and a brighter future.
Pecado de Amor
Pecado de Amor
1995 · VE
Pecado de Amor is a Venezuelan telenovela that was produced by and seen on Venevisión. This telenovela lasted 325 episodes and was distributed internationally by Venevisión International. It's to the date the long-running telenovela that Venevisión has ever made.


História de Amor
1995 · BR
Helena is a sweet, honest, sensitive and a warrior woman who faces the premature pregnancy of her daughter Joyce, who in turn is abandoned by her boyfriend, the irresponsible Caio. The biggest problem is the girl's father, Assunção, Helena's ex-husband, who does not accept the situation. Lonely and alone, Helena awakens a passion for the endocrinologist Carlos Alberto, and has her feelings matched. But Carlos is committed to the possessive Paula. The girl's parents, Zuleika and Rômulo, anxiously await their daughter's wedding with Carlos, who will save the family from financial decay. But Carlos is the type of man that women don't really forget. Even married to Paula and in love with Helena, he is still harassed by ex-wife Sheyla, who is not satisfied with having lost him and dreams of a rapprochement.


Between Us
1994 · DE
Unter uns is a German television soap opera, first broadcast on RTL on 28 November 1994. Centered around the lives of the people in a residential house, which is set in the fictional Schillerallee in Cologne. Since the show debuted the baker's family Weigel is the series core family. Unter uns isn't based on a foreign soap opera like Verbotene Liebe or Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten. After Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten, the show was the second daily soap for RTL, followed years later in 2006 by Alles was zählt. The show aired its 3,500th episode on 30 December 2008.


White Lies
1997 · SE
Vita lögner is a Swedish soap opera that aired on TV3,. The plot focused on the social life of the hospital staff and families in the fictional town of Strömsvik.


Força de um Desejo
1999 · BR
Set in the 19th century, the novel tells the story of an impossible romance. Inácio, a young man from a traditional family, falls in love with Esther, the owner of the most famous brothel in the Court.


Caça Talentos
1996 · BR
No overview available


Yo soy Betty, la fea
1999 · CO
Beatriz Pinzón Solano is a brilliant economist with a master's degree in finance; she has only one flaw: she's ugly. Everything changes when she starts working at Ecomoda, one of the country's largest companies, where she meets and falls in love with Armando Mendoza. This time, life will give her a second chance to prove she can become the most desired and beloved woman in the world.


Jequitibá
1993 · BR
Jose Inocencio had innocence only as part of his name, but only those who new him well could notice this. But nobody knew him. He was a storyteller, and he was always the main character in the stories he told. He managed not only to create stories about himself, he managed to create a legend. The story of this powerful cacao farmer; Maria Santa, the beloved wife who died; and their four children is the main theme of 'Renascer'.


Andando nas Nuvens
1999 · BR
The adventures of a man with amnesia who struggles to rediscover his past while learning to live in the present.


Marienhof
1992 · DE
Marienhof is a German soap opera, first shown on October 1, 1992 on German TV channel, Das Erste. It started as a weekly series, before becoming a daily program on January 2, 1995. The show was canceled in February 2011 and aired its last episode on June 15, 2011. In the 90s, the Marienhof became a huge success in Finland and remained a fan favorite until it was canceled to license problems. Over the years, the show became known for tackling several social issues, such as homosexuality, homelessness, private bankruptcy, rape, drug abuse, AIDS, child abuse, suicide, cancer, adultery and murder. The show focuses on the everyday life of the residents of the Marienhof, a fictional suburb in Cologne.


Familie
1991 · BE
'Familie' is the longest running Belgian soap opera. The Van den Bossches originally had an electronics company, later a holding company that included a clothing chain and a sandwich shop. In the meantime, we closely follow the personal lives of the Van den Bossches and their entourage. Grandma Anna and all her children and grandchildren have been through a lot over time and it doesn't look like their lives will become calmer any time soon.


Barriga de Aluguel
1990 · BR
Ana and Zeca have a happy marriage, but they can't have children. To fulfill their dream, the couple hires the young Clara as a surrogate mother, which leads them into a legal dispute.
1990s television was the last era of true mass audiences, when a network sitcom or a season finale could be a shared national event.
Soap opera is television's most enduring form — continuing serials built on relationships, reversals, and an audience that returns for decades. Its storytelling grammar quietly underpins most modern serialized drama.