The 40 most popular 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.


Storm of Love
2005
country: Germany
These are the stories of relationships taking place in the fictional five-star hotel Fürstenhof, located in Feldkirchen-Westerham near Rosenheim with the plot revolving around members of the family room area, the hotel owners, and employees.


Binnelanders
2005
country: South Africa
A South African Afrikaans soap opera. It is set in and around the fictional private hospital, Binneland Kliniek, in Pretoria, and the storyline follows the trials, trauma and tribulations of the staff and patients of the hospital.


Tomorrow Is Ours
2017
country: France
The story revolves around the people of Sète, France. Their lives are punctuated by family rivalries, romance and scenes from daily life, but also by plots involving police investigations, secrets and betrayals.


Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden
1990
country: Netherlands
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.


Coronation Street
1960
country: United Kingdom
The residents of Coronation Street are ordinary, working-class people, and the show follows them through regular social and family interactions at home, in the workplace, and in their local pub, the Rovers Return Inn. Britain's longest-running soap.


Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten
1992
country: Germany
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.


Emmerdale
1972
country: United Kingdom
The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.


Young Hearts
1995
country: Brazil
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.


Egoli: Place of Gold
1992
country: South Africa
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)


Klan
1997
country: Poland
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.


Válgame Dios
2012
country: VE
¡Válgame Dios! is a Spanish-language Venezuelan telenovela written by Mónica Montañéz for Venevisión. Sabrina Seara and Eduardo Orozco star as the main protagonists while Ricardo Alamo, Carlota Sosa and Raquel Yanez star as the main antagonists.


EastEnders
1985
country: United Kingdom
The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.


Ulice
2005
country: Czech Republic
Ulice is a Czech soap opera produced and broadcast by Nova. In the Czech language Ulice means street. The show describes the lives of the Farský, Jordán, Boháč, Nikl, and Liška families and many other people that live in Prague. Their daily battle against real problems of living in a modern world like divorce, love, betrayal and illness or disease. Ulice often shows crime.


Sister-in-Law Is at Home!
2015
country: India
"Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain!" is a popular Hindi sitcom that premiered in 2015 on And TV and is available on ZEE5. Produced by Binaifer Kohli, the show follows two neighboring couples—the Mishras and the Tiwaris. The husbands, Vibhuti Narayan Mishra and Manmohan Tiwari are dissatisfied in their marriages and secretly admire each other's wives. Manmohan, a successful undergarment businessman, is married to Angoori, a simple and naive housewife. Vibhuti, an unemployed former insurance agent, is married to Anita, a confident and modern woman who runs grooming classes. Their constant scheming to impress each other's wives leads to comedic conflicts and chaotic situations, mostly taking place in their homes. The show, inspired by the 1990s sitcom Shrimaan Shrimati, has been well received by both critics and audiences for its humor and engaging storyline.


Secret Lives
1999
country: Finland
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.


Dark Shadows
1966
country: United States
Dark Shadows is an American gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began. The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles; indeed, as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor. Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.


Knots Landing
1979
country: United States
The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.


Family Affairs
1997
country: United Kingdom
Focuses on the lives of residents in the fictional London suburb of Charnham.


Alles was zählt
2006
country: Germany
Alles was zählt is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on September 4, 2006. The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Julian Herzog, who signed her at the prestigious Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Center, run by the unscrupulous Steinkamp dynasty. Diana and Julian eventually became a couple, but in November 2007, Julian suffered a brain hemorrhage and died during their wedding. Diana remained in Essen until January 2009, when she left to join a skating centre in Halle. The story continues to revolve around the Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Centre and its quest to become a sporting powerhouse, as well as the lives of the characters who work at and around the Centre.


Holby City
1999
country: United Kingdom
Drama series about life on the wards of Holby City Hospital, following the highs and lows of the staff and patients.


El cor de la ciutat
2000
country: Spain
El cor de la ciutat is a TVC television soap opera first broadcast on TV3 on 11 September 2000 and last broadcast on 23 December 2009. The show is the most watched fiction program in Catalonia, Spain, especially among female audiences, drawing around 28-33% of the audience with as much as 40% during season finales. El cor de la ciutat follows the lives of the people who live and work in the neighbourhood of Sants and Sant Andreu in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.


7de Laan
2000
country: South Africa
7de Laan is an extraordinary microcosm where good and bad, evil and wholesome characters find themselves forming part of a wholesome community where no matter what – everyone counts and everyone cares…


Războiul sexelor
2007
country: Romania
No overview available


Casualty
1986
country: United Kingdom
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.


Amigas & Rivais
2007
country: Brazil
Amigas & Rivais is a Brazilian telenovela produced by SBT in association with Televisa and originally broadcast from August 6, 2007, to January 18, 2008. It is a remake of the Mexican telenovela Amigas y rivales (2001), created by Emilio Larrosa. Adapted by Letícia Dornelles, with text supervision by Thereza di Giácomo, the telenovela stars Cacau Melo, Lisandra Cortez, Karla Tenório, Thaís Pacholek, and Talita Castro. The story follows four young women from different social backgrounds: Nicole, Laura, Olívia, and Helena. Although they have different personalities and life experiences, they form a strong friendship while facing the challenges of youth, love, family conflicts, and personal struggles. Their lives become complicated by secrets, betrayals, jealousy, and the schemes of Rosana, Helena's manipulative stepmother, who is willing to do anything to achieve her goals.


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.


Agniphera
2017
country: India
Shrishti, a fierce lawyer, and Ragini, a woman who loves guns, both wish to marry the same man, Anurag. He must now choose between the two fiery women.


Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
1976
country: United States
In the fictional town of Fernwood, Ohio, suburban housewife Mary Hartman seeks the kind of domestic perfection promised by Reader’s Digest and TV commercials. Instead she finds herself suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune: mass murders, low-flying airplanes and waxy yellow buildup on her kitchen floor.


Chicago Hope
1994
country: United States
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.


Îngerașii
2008
country: Romania
No overview available


Moment of Truth
1965
country: Canada
Clinical psychologist Dr. Robert Wallace operates a private practice and teaches at the local university.


Caça Talentos
1996
country: Brazil
No overview available


Strawberries with Sugar
2003
country: Portugal
Across several generations, groups of young Portuguese people navigate school life and summer holidays while dealing with friendships, first loves, rivalries, family conflicts and decisions that shape their future. Each season introduces new protagonists, schools and challenges, exploring themes related to adolescence, identity, responsibility and belonging. Sport, music, dance and other forms of expression accompany their journeys of growing up, marked by dreams, choices and ever-changing relationships.


Chronicles of the Sun
2018
country: France
Claire is surprised when she gets arrested for the murder of her childhood friend after she returns to Montpellier.


Dallas
1978
country: United States
The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.


Bright Promise
1969
country: United States
Bright Promise is an American daytime soap opera that ran on NBC from September 29, 1969 to March 31, 1972. It aired weekdays at 3:30 PM Eastern/2:30 PM Central.


Na Wspólnej
2003
country: Poland
Na Wspólnej is a Polish soap opera. It has been running since 2003 on the TVN channel as its flagship primetime weekday soap opera. It is loosely based on the German production Unter Uns and it follows the lives of the inhabitants of an apartment block in Wspólna Street, Warsaw. Episodes tend to last around 20 minutes. It is a Polish version of the Hungarian "Barátok közt". The series is shot almost entirely in Warsaw and produced by the Polish branch of Freemantle Media. On 9 September 2008 it celebrated its 1000th episode; "Na Wspólnej" was the fourth Polish television series ever to achieve such status. A special episode was broadcast in which characters from some other of TVN's most popular shows visited Wspólna Street.


Home and Away
1988
country: Australia
Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.


CentoVetrine
2001
country: Italy
The series tells the stories of some of the characters who work or are related to an imaginary shopping center Centovetrine, located in the center of Turin. There are many stories of love and passion, but also struggles for power and dynastic quarrels in the telefilm.
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.