YEAR OF THE SOAP: Why is DOWNTON ABBEY So Popular? Will Season 3 Be Just as Good?

In recent BBC coverage of the lead-in to DOWNTON ABBEY's season three (United Kingdom) premiere, it seems no one in London can stop talking about America, how successful DOWNTON is here, and the secret of the series' success.

"I went to New York and me and Lesley got recognized. It was so weird... we never get recognized in London or a place like that!" exclaims Sophie McShera, DOWNTON's beleagured kitchen maid, Daisy.

YEAR OF THE SOAP: New Jennifer Lopez Lesbian Family Drama to Unite Emmett from QUEER AS FOLK, Janice Dickinson's Ex-Husband, ABC Family

1993: "From the producers of KNOTS LANDING."

With a couple movies out this year, huge clothing and perfume lines, a new greatest hits album about to drop and a summer concert tour, Jennifer Lopez is busy. Soap fans are busy, too.  Let's join her as she jettisons the sclerotic AMERICAN IDOL (three weeks of satire, three weeks of farce, with several weeks of nap time in between) for an exciting new ABC Family venture featuring "a new kind of family" indeed - one with same-sex parents, adopted twins, a biological son and a new, teenage homewrecker.

That sounds to me like a recipe for some fabulous family drama - and another ABC Family hit that just happens to be a soap opera.

2012 has seen a steady flow of high-profile soap opera projects backed by big names from the entertainment industry. Let's take a look at the latest.

Why 2012 Will Be "The Year Of The Soap" (Part 3): Promising Fall Pilots

In Part 1 and Part 2 of our "The Year of the Soap" series, we looked at the massive number of new and returning serials in the television and internet landscape.   We are currently in pilot season and there are potentially dozens of new soaps that may be headed our way in primetime this Fall during the 2012-2013 TV season.

Some of our favorites (judging only by the descriptions made available to date):

NASHVILLE (ABC)
Logline: A family soap set against the backdrop of the Nashville music scene that follows one star at her peak and one on the rise.  (Hayden Panettiere, Eric Close and Jonathan Jackson have been cast in the pilot.)
From: Writer-EP Callie Khouri; EPs RJ Cutler, Steve Buchanan; Gaylord Entertainment, ABC Studios, and Lionsgate

Why 2012 Will Be "The Year Of The Soap" (Part 2): DARK SHADOWS, RAGGED ISLE, DALLAS, Univision Telenovelas and More

Our special "The Year of the Soap" series continues below with Part 2. Read Part 1 here.

SPRING
DARK SHADOWS was a pop culture phenomenon when it ran on ABC Daytime from 1966 to 1971, spawning movies, comic books, a primetime remake several years later and even (in part) inspiring Ryan Murphy to create AMERICAN HORROR STORY. Now, a new, big-budget film version of the show, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp as the vampire Barnabas Collins, is scheduled to be released on May 11, 2012.

Why 2012 Will Be "The Year Of The Soap" (Part 1)

We Love Soaps refuses to accept the doom and gloom trumpeted by the mainstream media about our beloved genre. Serialized stories have always been popular, all over the world. There are examples in every culture: the ancient Greeks had Homer, the ancient Chinese had their wuxia, and in Victorian times, New Yorkers mobbed the docks of lower Manhattan every time the next installment of the latest Dickensian novel came ashore. But now, they'll have us believe (probably to try and trick us into watching cheap, tacky talk shows) that all of a sudden, human nature has changed? That's absurd.

In fact, we contend that the soap genre is more popular than ever, and we have plenty of evidence to back it up. Just look at all the wonderful soapy goodness in store for us in 2012! That's why we predict that - despite what the mainstream media says - 2012 will be "The Year of the Soap". After reading our 2012 soap opera highlights, below, we think you'll agree with us: the genre is not dying, but (true to form) it's simply preparing for a dramatic, triumphant return. After all, who doesn't love a good comeback story? In 2012, the soap opera itself is poised for just that.