i'd be interested to see how the stats compare in UK, AU and NZ - from watching a lot of taskmaster, ongoing soaps like coronation street, eastenders, neighbours, and shortland street still get referenced as universal touchstones that need no explanation
Great analysis. The other dominant & popular daytime programs (as I was growing up) were talk shows and game shows. I can't help but wonder if these genres had similar downward trends?
I've been watching General Hospital since I was a baby. In high school and college I stopped following but when James Franco came in as stunt casting in 2009 I got hooked again. I hope it's not over. Being a fan of these shows is a lot of fun, there's always ridiculous twists to gossip about with other fans. One element that you missed that separates GH from other shows is that you get to watch characters grow and change over a *very* long period of time. More than any other show, I feel like I know these characters. In many cases I've watched them grow up from either little kids or young 20 somethings into middle or old aged adults. My hope is that they can make it through this period of shows splintering into a million outlets and cheaper content because I think, over time, there is real value in having comfort shows. People still watch Cheers and Friends and a lot of the old sitcoms not just because they are funny, but because they are so familiar. I hope that consistency and feelings of stability keeps GH on the air. I'm curious if it's place on Hulu as often the number 1 in popularity will help it grow back an audience.
At the risk of veering too far from my movies lane, I always think of this quote about TV from Joe Reid: "TV has never transcended the soap opera or the sitcom, and every ‘great’ TV show is just polishing up one or the other.”
you didnt mention anything about Bravo genre of “Housewives” shows. Aren’t those the new soap operas?
i'd be interested to see how the stats compare in UK, AU and NZ - from watching a lot of taskmaster, ongoing soaps like coronation street, eastenders, neighbours, and shortland street still get referenced as universal touchstones that need no explanation
Big All My Children fan here! I recently discovered some clips and scenes on YouTube that brought back a lot of memories!
Great analysis. The other dominant & popular daytime programs (as I was growing up) were talk shows and game shows. I can't help but wonder if these genres had similar downward trends?
I've been watching General Hospital since I was a baby. In high school and college I stopped following but when James Franco came in as stunt casting in 2009 I got hooked again. I hope it's not over. Being a fan of these shows is a lot of fun, there's always ridiculous twists to gossip about with other fans. One element that you missed that separates GH from other shows is that you get to watch characters grow and change over a *very* long period of time. More than any other show, I feel like I know these characters. In many cases I've watched them grow up from either little kids or young 20 somethings into middle or old aged adults. My hope is that they can make it through this period of shows splintering into a million outlets and cheaper content because I think, over time, there is real value in having comfort shows. People still watch Cheers and Friends and a lot of the old sitcoms not just because they are funny, but because they are so familiar. I hope that consistency and feelings of stability keeps GH on the air. I'm curious if it's place on Hulu as often the number 1 in popularity will help it grow back an audience.
At the risk of veering too far from my movies lane, I always think of this quote about TV from Joe Reid: "TV has never transcended the soap opera or the sitcom, and every ‘great’ TV show is just polishing up one or the other.”