Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.
1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.
1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.
1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily.

"History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.


On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.
1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.
1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.
1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily.

"Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."
― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.
1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.
1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.
1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily.

"More and more, I tend to read history. I often find it more up to date than the daily newspapers."
― Joe Murray

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.
1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.
1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.
1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily.

"The present contains nothing more than the past, and what is found in the effect is already in the cause."
― Henri Louis Bergson

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1976: Pat wanted to stop seeing Faith on Ryan's Hope.
1981: Guiding Light's Jennifer made a courtroom confession.
1986: Santa Barbara's Mason was shocked his father was well.
1995: General Hospital's Monica met 11-year-old Emily.

"A page of history is worth a pound of logic."
― Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to Scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera Dan Harding's Wife premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On The Edge of Night, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons to tell him trouble was brewing.

1967: On Another World, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

Former SOAPnet Excecutive Deborah Blackwell Dead at 63

Deborah Blackwell, the former general manager of SOAPnet, died Friday in Virginia after battling Pick's disease for seven years, Deadline.com reported. She was 63.

Blackwell ran SOAPnet from 2001 to 2007, building the network for Disney's ABC Cable Networks group. Under her leadership the channel's distribution reportedly grew to more than 67 million homes, with SOAPnet gaining same-day rights to NBC and CBS programming, along with soaps from owner ABC.

The channel also acquired primetime shows under Blackwell's leadership, including ONE TREE HILL and THE O.C. It added original programming as well, launching the scripted series GENERAL HOSPITAL: NIGHT SHIFT and the reality show THE FASHIONISTA DIARIES

Today in Soap Opera History (January 20)

1981: Jennifer Richards' courtroom confession rocked
Springfield on GUIDING LIGHT.

"Maybe if people started to listen, history would stop repeating itself."
- Lily Tomlin

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1936: Radio soap opera DAN HARDINGS' WIFE premiered. It ran until on NBC Radio until February 10, 1939. Isabel Randolph starred as Rhoda Harding.

1958: On THE EDGE OF NIGHT, Roy Benson called Fitzsimmons and told him trouble was brewing.

1967: On ANOTHER WORLD, Liz (Audra Lindley) encouraged Danny to take Missy and split, even though she couldn't get Fred to help her unlock the trust fund.

SOAPnet Off The Air

SOAPnet went off the air at midnight on New Year's Eve despite protests from soap fans who watched same day repeats of DAYS OF OUR LIVES and GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Disney last month announced that SOAPnet would finally cease operations as part of a shift in corporate priorities.

"SOAPnet had a great run," Ben Pyne, president of global distribution for Disney Media Networks, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in November. "It served an audience of super-soap fans. And when given the opportunity, all of our affiliates kept the channel up and running."

SOAPnet To Cease Operations in December (Updated)

It seems like SOAPnet has been going away for the past few years, and it looks like the cable channel dedicated to soap operas will finally be gone for everyone by the end of the year. Based on customer communications from Time Warner, Cox, Charter, AT&T U-verse, Comcast and others, SOAPnet will no longer be available after December 2013.

RMA Cable:
The ABC Cable Group advised RMA Cable today that effective Dec. 31st, 2013 at 11:59:59EST they will cease entirely to exist. The channel will shutdown completely.

As such, it will no longer be available on the RMA Cable (or any other cable/satellite) system.

Charter:
"On or after December 17, 2013, SOAPnet and G4 will go dark for Charter customers. The drops were decided by the networks and beyond our control."

Comcast:
SOAPnet is listed under the networks up for renewal in December with an additional note of "ceasing operations".

SOAPnet To Air BEVERLY HILLS 90210 Independence Day Marathon

SOAPnet celebrates the 4th of July with the "Life's A Beach: BEVERLY HILLS 90210 Independence Day Marathon" on Thursday, July 4 (10 a.m.-7 p.m. ET/PT). The 9-hour marathon centers on everyone's favorite exclusive hot-spot -- the Beverly Hills Beach Club. The sun is shining, the volleyball nets are up, and the drama of being a teenager never stops.

Episodes:

10 a.m. - Episode #1992-22 - "Beach Blanket Brandon" - Brenda is shaken by a pregnancy scare and breaks up with Dylan. Brandon gets a job at the Beverly Hills Beach Club.

11 a.m. - Episode #1992-23 - "The Party Fish" - Brandon pursues Sandy, a beach club coworker, and to his dismay discovers that she's involved in an affair with one of the club's wealthy members.

SOAPnet Celebrating Father's Day With ONE TREE HILL Marathon

SOAPnet is celebrating Father's Day with the "Buff Daddies" of ONE TREE HILL. Relive some of the show's most redeeming moments of fatherhood with Nathan, Lucas and Jake in a special four-hour marathon, airing Sunday, June 16th (10 a.m. - 2 p.m. ET/PT).

Episodes:

10 a.m. - Episode #2003-018 - "To Wish Impossible Things" - Jake, Nathan and Lucas are sold to the highest bidder for charity in the annual Tree Hill "Boy Toy" Auction. Jake's mysterious winning bid turns out to be Nicki, his former flame who abandoned both him and Jenny, their nine-month-old daughter. Nicki mistakenly thinks the two can reconnect, but Jake takes the opportunity to school her on the repercussions of her abandonment.

SOAPnet Presents the "Mars and Stripes! VERONICA MARS Memorial Day Marathon" on Monday, May 27

SOAPnet is airing a VERONICA MARS marathon on Memorial day. This star-spangled event features the first nine episodes of the series with guest stars that include: Jessica Chastain, Harry Hamlin, Paris Hilton, Melissa Leo, Jane Lynch, Lisa Rinna and Amanda Seyfried. It all starts Monday, May 27, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

VERONICA MARS is a drama about a wealthy seaside community where the rich and powerful make the rules, own the town, and desperately try to keep their dirty little secrets just that... secret. Unfortunately for them, there's Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell, GOSSIP GIRL, HOUSE OF LIES) a smart, fearless 17-year-old high school student looking after her father and helping with his struggling new private investigator business. By sneaking through back alleys and scoping out no-tell motels with a telescopic-lens camera and her math book, Veronica attempts to uncover the California beach town's darkest secrets, including who killed her best friend, and created a scandal that cost her father his job, his home and his wife. What she finds may tear the town of Neptune apart at the seams. Also stars Enrico Colantoni, Teddy Dunn, Jason Dohring, Michael Muhney and Francis Capra. Produced by Joel Silver and Rob Thomas.

Below is a list of episodes in the marathon:

SOAPnet To Air "Real Mothers of Beverly Hills 90210 Mother's Day Marathon" On May 12

SOAPnet celebrates Mother's Day with the "Real Mothers of Beverly Hills 90210 Mother's Day Marathon" on Sunday, May 12, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. The four-hour marathon features mother-themed episodes of BEVERLY HILLS, 90210.
BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 followed the lives of two transplanted Minnesota twins, Brandon and Brenda, as they Made their way through Los Angeles amongst the privileged rich kids. Even though the show was known for its fabulous cars and clothes, the series covered many important issues, such as teen pregnancy, suicide, alcoholism, drug addiction, rape, integrated families and domestic violence.

Episodes:

DAYS OF OUR LIVES Promo: Cameron Revealed (Spoiler Alert)

Cameron takes off a few clothes in the latest SOAPnet promo for DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Check it out below (spoiler alert):

THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Same-Day Repeats Moving To TVGN, Leaving SOAPnet This Summer

TVGN today announced that it will become the exclusive basic cable home for the #1 daytime drama, THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS (Y&R). The acquisition of the top-rated daytime franchise from Sony Pictures Television (SPT) marks the first TVGN programming announcement as part of the new CBS Corporation/Lionsgate partnership.

Beginning this summer, Y&R will move from SOAPnet, where it has already been a basic cable ratings success, to TVGN, keeping the 7 p.m. ET/PT time slot where it has built a loyal fan base, and will appear day-and-date with its broadcast on CBS. One of the most popular franchises in daytime television history, Y&R recently celebrated 40 years on the air on CBS, where it has dominated the ratings in daytime.

ENCORE: SOAPnet Repeating 50-Hour GENERAL HOSPITAL Marathon This Weekend

In honor of GENERAL HOSPITAL's 50th anniversary week, SOAPnet will encore its 50-hour marathon of classic episodes starting Friday, April 5th at 10 p.m. ET/PT and running through Monday, April 8 at 12 a.m. ET/PT (Sunday night/Monday morning). The marathon kicks off with the very first episode from 1963, and will include shows from every decade.

GENERAL HOSPITAL Marathon: Watch The Episodes (1991-2012)

SOAPnet is airing a 50-hour marathon of classic GENERAL HOSPITAL episodes this week. Fans are uploading the episodes to YouTube so if you don't have SOAPnet, watch some of the episodes that have aired below (in order of original airdate):

Click here for episodes from 1963-1986

February 18, 1991

GENERAL HOSPITAL Marathon: Watch The Episodes (1963-1986)

SOAPnet is airing a 50-hour marathon of classic GENERAL HOSPITAL episodes this week. Fans are uploading the episodes to YouTube so if you don't have SOAPnet, watch some of the episodes that have aired below (in order of original airdate):

April 1, 1963

SOAPnet's 50-Hour GENERAL HOSPITAL Marathon Kicks Off With Very First Episode

In celebration of GENERAL HOSPITAL's 50th anniversary, SOAPnet is airing an unprecedented 50-hour marathon of classic episodes from the beloved series, starting Friday, March 29th at 10 p.m. ET/PT and running through Monday, April 1 at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT (Sunday night/Monday morning). The marathon kicks off with the very first episode from 1963, and will include shows from every decade. The stunt leads up to the very special 50th anniversary episode of GENERAL HOSPITAL, airing on Monday, April 1 on ABC (2:00-3:00 p.m. ET//1:00 p.m. PT/CT) and SOAPnet (9:00 p.m. ET/PT, encore at 12:00 a.m. ET/PT).

SOAPnet To Air 50-Hour GENERAL HOSPITAL Marathon

SOAPnet has announced it will air a 50-hour GENERAL HOSPITAL marathon event starting March 29, leading up to the special 50th Anniversary episode of the soap on April 1.

SOAPnet revealed today one of the episodes will be where Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) found Carly (Tamara Braun) in the panic room (July 2003).

We are hoping SOAPnet shows some classics that have not been seen since they first aired and not used in previous marathons. Which episodes would you like to see in the marathon?

Watch a SOAPnet promo for GH50 below: