The 40 most popular 2020s soap TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Ici tout commence
2020
country: France
This television drama series is centered around the prestigious culinary school of renowned chef Auguste Armand. The show follows the lives of students and staff as they navigate the challenges and pressures of the culinary world—delving into their personal and professional lives, revealing secrets, rivalries, and complex relationships.


Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin
2020
country: India
Sai Joshi, a fearless girl who aspires to become a doctor, marries an IPS officer, Virat Chavan, pretending to be a deal. The story revolves around the life of Sai in orthodox joint family of Virat and how Sai and Virat fall in love.


Diepe Waters
2022
country: South Africa
A South African, Afrikaans-language telenovela which takes place in and around a competitive swimming club, Die Swartmarlyne.


Dreams of Freedom
2024
country: Spain
Begoña Montes is a woman who lives trapped in a toxic marriage and seeks the long-awaited freedom in Spain in 1958.


Anupamaa
2020
country: India
Anupama had to sacrifice a lot to become an ideal wife, daughter-in-law, and mother. After a bitter realisation, she sets out to live on her own terms.


La promesa
2023
country: Spain
In 1913 Spain, a woman gets a job at the palace of La Promesa as a reward for saving the marquesses' son - but nobody knows that she has her own plans, which involve avenging her mother's death and finding her missing brother.


Bhagya Lakshmi
2021
country: India
Hailing from a middle-class family, Lakshmi’s life is upended when she realises that her marriage to Rishi Oberoi, an industrialist’s son, is a sham to keep his death at bay.


Legacy
2020
country: Turkey
The story of Yaman, a successful businessman who is incapable of love because of his traumatic childhood. There is only one person that he feels something for, his young nephew Yusuf. When Yusuf's mother dies unexpectedly, his aunt Seher, a beautiful, courageous young woman, moves into the family mansion to take care of him.


This Sea Will Overflow
2025
country: Turkey
In a land where people are accustomed to battling fierce waves and constant storms, the story of a woman who stands tall on her feet, with all her emotional strength, resilience and endurance, and a man who is passionate about his "love" and who competes with the storms of the Black Sea and struggles with its waves, comes to the screens with an effective script... The ups and downs of the mountains, the sea and the human soul are told through the eyes of a stranger who finds himself in the middle of the endless war between two mortal enemies.


Timeless Love
2023
country: Portugal
Catarina embarks on a dangerous journey to find who made her mother vanish. The Torres family seems to be the obvious suspect, but within them there's Vasco, the love of Catarina's life. Two opposed sides connected by love.


Racing Heart
2026
country: Brazil
In childhood, Agrado meets João Raul during a radio contest in the countryside of Goiás. Like her, the boy dreams of becoming a singer, and the two decide to perform together a song composed by Agrado. However, unforeseen events separate them and lead to a misunderstanding that keeps them apart for many years. João Raul, now a major country music star, uses his social media platforms to search for Agrado, “the girl from his past,” who, unlike him, is still struggling to establish herself in the music industry.


Beyond the Gates
2025
country: United States
A powerful and prestigious family reigns over a posh gated community with juicy secrets and scandals waiting to be uncovered.


Genesis
2021
country: Brazil
The story of the first 2,300 years of humanity and recounts events exclusively from that period. The plot begins by giving us a greater understanding of why we exist and how we turned from perfection to imperfection. The origin of all social and racial problems is there at the beginning of everything, when via one decision a human being who only knew good and enjoyed it so much also chose to know evil.


Milo
2024
country: Belgium
The telenovella 'Milo' is a modern musical fairy tale. The series tells the story of Milo, a very talented baker's daughter with a golden voice, who is forced to hide her talent from the outside world. No matter how hard she dreams of a life full of singing and music.


Boundless Love
2023
country: Turkey
When he was a little child, Halil İbrahim lost his father due to a blood feud and was exiled to Istanbul. Twenty years later, he returns to his homeland in the Karadeniz region as a handsome, powerful young man. He plans to marry the girl he loves, Yasemin, and start a new life. However, events do not allow this. Halil İbrahim embarks on a journey of revenge, and his life will change completely when he encounters Zeynep from the Leto family.


Cacau
2024
country: Portugal
Cacau is an engaging saga of family secrets, clandestine loves and sacrifices, all sweetened by the irresistible taste of chocolate and the magic of cocoa plantations.


Festa é Festa
2021
country: Portugal
A village in the interior of Portugal is preparing the best village festival ever, in the year that marks the centenary of its greatest benefactor. Everyone does their best in organizing the party always with something in mind: the inheritance of the elderly woman.


Florentina
2026
country: Belgium
Florentina: a charming woman with a lot to offer, but who has never really felt accepted. It doesn't help that she works in her mother's wellness and fitness empire - where a slim figure is always central - but does not meet the classic beauty ideals herself. Her life is turned upside down when her fiancé leaves her and she unexpectedly inherits a secret nightclub. But the latter turns out to be a gift from heaven. She makes new friends, she is surrounded by colorful outsiders who inspire her. She learns to love herself and a new world opens up for her. But can Florentina now also resist the expectations of her mother and the toxic family business? And will she ultimately find true love?


Pantanal
2022
country: Brazil
After the mysterious disappearance of his father, Joventino, the cowboy José Leôncio becomes a wealthy farm owner in Pantanal. Over twenty years have passed and, bitter-hearted because of his father vanishing and the escape of his wife to Rio de Janeiro with his baby, José Leôncio has the chance to make amends with the boy, now a young man raised in the big city with very different values and habits than his own.


Collision
2026
country: Mexico
When business magnate Miguel Ángel dies in a mysterious crash, his daughter Zoé and estranged wife Belén fight for control of his company.


Valle salvaje
2024
country: Spain
1763. The life of Adriana, a brave and loyal woman, suffers an unexpected setback when she receives a devastating blow: her father has died, and, as a result of a secret pact, she must travel from the city of Madrid to Valle Salvaje, in northern Spain, to marry a stranger. A dark secret from her past follows her to the remote valley, home to her fiancé's family and her troubled aunt, Doña Victoria. There, her life will change forever. She will experience true love, betrayal, and danger as she tries to uncover the truth behind her father's death.


Land of Desire
2023
country: Brazil
When her husband is killed in a land grabbing attempt, Aline takes charge of cultivating his land and protecting his family. Facing the powerful Antonio La Selva, responsible for the death of her husband and the largest landowner in the region, Aline is determined to keep possession of her land and invest in its production. However, she didn't expect that she would fall in love with Daniel, son of her rival, who is at odds with his rebellious half-brother, Caio, who, in turn, also falls in love with the girl. In the interior of Brazil, Aline will have to fight two battles: the dispute for her lands and for her heart.


Crazy About You
2024
country: Brazil
The story begins with the ambiguous relationship between friends Viola and Luma, who seem predestined to literally enter each other's lives. Born on the same day, in very different situations, they meet years later, united by coincidences that go beyond their birthday. From humble origins, Viola moves with her boyfriend Mavi to Angra dos Reis, where Luma lives a luxurious life and dates Rudá, who ends up meeting Viola by chance. Thus begins the duo's journey, which goes from a passion for recipes to an obsession with the same man, from the immediate connection to the point of starting to live their friend’s reality, 10 years later. A journey divided between complicity and rivalry, which includes them in a love quadrangle and is impacted by a series of circumstances, twists and surprises, such as the secret surrounding a murder.


Anything Goes
2025
country: Brazil
The story of a mother and daughter with opposing views on the path to success in life takes the audience on a contemporary journey about character, ethics and honesty.


The Polygamist
2026
country: South Africa
Social media darling, Joyce, is the picture of marital perfection — until her cheating husband's conquests ignite a scandalous emotional meltdown.


Margarita: Make Your Story Count
2024
country: Argentina
Margarita tells the story of an orphaned teenager with a life like a movie, with many doubts and almost no certainty about her story, who, following her wish, will arrive at a very magical place where she can live and fulfill her dreams, without knowing that this house was the place where she was born and that the perfidious Delfina usurped it to build her empire.


Meet
2021
country: India
A remake of Zee Sarthak’s Sindura Bindu. Despite her efforts to provide for her family, Meets disregard for societal gender norms and her nonconformist job as a delivery agent make her an unsuitable girl in the eyes of her family.


In the Emperor's Times
2021
country: Brazil
In 1856, the emperor Dom Pedro II lived a marriage of appearances with Teresa Cristina, with whom he was forced to marry at a young age by his parents' political alliance, having two daughters with her: Isabel and Leopoldina. He truly loves Countess Luisa, a cultured and time-ahead woman who fights for the abolitionist cause and women's rights, married to Eugenio, the emperor Napoleon's cousin. At the same time there are sisters Pilar and Dolores: the first went to a convent after her mother's death in childhood, growing up among books and dreaming of studying medicine - inspired by the story of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first doctor in the world -, while the second stayed at home to take care of her father, Colonel Eudoro, growing up repressed, illiterate and without vanity.


Vitória
2025
country: Portugal
Vitória returns determined to recover her children, Afonso, Matilde, and Francisco, after serving an unjust prison sentence. Her father-in-law, Manuel Mendonça, a powerful and manipulative man, has managed to separate his grandchildren from their mother and will do everything to keep her away from her family. With the help of Jorge, a prestigious lawyer and her first love, Vitória will face the Mendonça empire and fight for what she loves most: her children. Vitória is a story of resilience, courage, and the purest of feelings: a mother's love.


Pa' Quererte
2020
country: Colombia
No overview available


Dos vidas
2021
country: Mexico
The story of Julia, a woman currently living out the life that her mother and future husband have planned for her. But just as she is about to get married, she discovers a great family secret that will change her forever. On the verge of a nervous breakdown, she decides to get away and finds refuge in a secluded town in the mountains of Madrid where she will have a complicated mission: to take control of her own destiny.


The Best Side of Life!
2025
country: Brazil
Candinho and his faithful companion, Policarpo, are back for new adventures in the big city. However, the disappearance of his son brings new suffering to him, who continues to believe that "everything bad that happens in life is for the better!".


Legacy
2020
country: South Africa
Legacy is a South African telenovela which follows the wealthy Price household, a family at war with itself after the patriarch announces he is stepping down, creating a power vacuum.


The Childhood of Romeo and Juliet
2023
country: Brazil
Romeo and Juliet are kids that belong to different worlds, rival groups, and enemy families, but they like each other and can’t help the feeling. To stay together, they have to solve mysteries from the past and face those who they love the most to bring back harmony.


Rebirth
2024
country: Brazil
After making a pact with Jequitibá, José Inocêncio becomes a mythical figure, known as the most successful cocoa farmer in the region. While still young, he wins the heart of Maria Santa. Their intense passion results in four children: José Augusto, José Bento, José Venâncio, and the youngest, João Pedro, who never had the opportunity to know his mother, as she dies while giving birth to him. This tragedy fuels José Inocêncio’s anger, blaming João Pedro for the loss of his great love. Throughout their lives, indifference and resentment mark the relationship between the father and his youngest son. As if the past weren’t enough, years later, the arrival of the mysterious Mariana puts all these emotions to the test when both father and son fall in love with the same woman. This situation reawakens feelings that were either dormant or previously unknown to them.


The Enchanted Cave
2024
country: Brazil
A Caverna Encantada is a Brazilian children's telenovela produced by SBT in partnership with Disney and originally broadcast from July 29, 2024, to September 5, 2025. Created by Íris Abravanel, with collaboration from Andreza Porto, Denise Barbosa, Fany Higuera, Gustavo Braga, and Luiz Felipe Pereira Santos, and directed by Ricardo Mantoanelli, the telenovela is an adaptation of the books A Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The story follows Anna, a seven-year-old girl whose father, Paulo, a missionary doctor, leaves her at the Rosa dos Ventos boarding school before going on a dangerous mission. When he mysteriously fails to return, Anna begins searching for answers about his disappearance and discovers secrets about her past. At the boarding school, she forms friendships, faces challenges, and experiences adventures filled with mystery, fantasy, and hope.


Para Sempre
2021
country: Portugal
Pedro is an enigmatic man with only one goal: to get Clara back, his first and only love. However, this meeting is almost impossible. Above all, because she is engaged to his brother Lourenço, the man who Pedro will save. And what will Lourenço do when he realizes that his savior may, after all, steal everything from him?


Die Landarztpraxis
2023
country: Germany
No overview available


The Path
2022
country: Brazil
After having her life course changed by a fake image and losing her childhood sweetheart to greed and power, Brisa, a strong woman, will struggle to rebuild her journey, raise her son, rediscover true love, and discover the truth about her origin.


Lady of Tides
2024
country: Portugal
On her birthday, Joana's joy turns to despair when her abusive husband discovers her pregnancy and attempts to harm her. Fleeing the city, she finds refuge on a boat with criminals, but realizing the danger, she sees land beyond so leaps into the water and swims to Terceira Island, leaving her life behind. Exhausted on the shore, she encounters Chico, a lost child, during a religious ceremony. Joana arrives with the child, inadvertently becoming mistaken for a saint 'Our Lady of the Sea', revered by the island's faithful.
Television in the 2020s is defined by streaming saturation and its correction — shorter seasons, faster cancellations, and international productions competing on equal footing with American ones.
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.