Soap operas have captured loyal, often lifelong viewers since the first American daytime serial debuted in 1949. In this collection of 29 new and five classic essays and recollections, authors and soap opera insiders delve into the passion for television melodrama that compels viewers to "tune in tomorrow." The contributors include iconic soap star Thorsten Kaye, journalist Leigh Montville, authors Elinor Lipman and Ann Hood, and editors of Soaps in Depth magazine. They explore the soap phenomenon from a range of perspectives and consider the appeal of a venerable genre in which, as novelist Jacquelyn Mitchard observes, "everyone's life was more depressing than mine."

As a special feature for this book, The Museum of Television & Radio conducted interviews with leading writers, producers, actors, and directors of soap operas. Dozens of revealing quotes from these interviews appear throughout the book - personal and professional comments by men and women who make their living in the field.

Inspired by shounen-ai manga—melodramatic Japanese comics by girls about gay boys—Tough Love is a teen romance and coming-out story about a shy boy named Brian. More realistic than Japanese manga, this story centers on the relationships Brian develops with the boy he likes, Chris, and Julie, the girl who befriends him. Serious issues like gay bashing, suicide, and coming to terms with one’s own sexual identity are depicted with an honest, gentle touch. Socially relevant, fun, immediately accessible, and a bit of a soap opera, Tough Love helps gay teenagers to be more comfortable with themselves and less troubled, especially when they’re feeling alone and misunderstood.

The soap opera, one of U.S. television's longest-running and most influential formats, is on the brink. Declining ratings have been attributed to an increasing number of women working outside the home and to an intensifying competition for viewers' attention from cable and the Internet. Yet, soaps' influence has expanded, with serial narratives becoming commonplace on most prime time TV programs. The Survival of Soap Opera investigates the causes of their dwindling popularity, describes their impact on TV and new media culture, and gleans lessons from their complex history for twenty-first-century media industries. The book contains contributions from established soap scholars such as Robert C. Allen, Louise Spence, Nancy Baym, and Horace Newcomb, along with essays and interviews by emerging scholars, fans and Web site moderators, and soap opera producers, writers, and actors from ABC's General Hospital, CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, and other shows. This diverse group of voices seeks to intervene in the discussion about the fate of soap operas at a critical juncture, and speaks to longtime soap viewers, television studies scholars, and media professionals alike.

Calysta Jeffries is the hottest black actress in daytime and the diva of the soap opera world, known for her role as Ruby Stargazer on television’s most popular soap opera, "The Rich and the Ruthless." After fifteen years, three returns from the dead, two failed pregnancies, one alien abduction, and overcoming retrograde amnesia, Calysta still hasn’t managed to snag the biggest award in daytime drama: the Sudsy. Now is supposed to be her moment. But Calysta’s onscreen/offscreen rival Emmy Abernathy wins the award for the fourth time. The drama begins when journalist Mitch Morelli asks Calysta for a quote after the award show and her true feelings for her costar slip out. Ripped from the headlines of Soap Opera Digest and straight off of the television screen, Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva will give readers plenty to talk about as they try to guess where the real world ends and Rowell’s imagination begins.

For all the juicy details on the breakout hit TV show that's got people talking, tweeting and tuning in week after week, look no further than Rosewood Confidential. This is the first companion volume to the dark deeds, ugly secrets and flashy fashions to the popular TV show Pretty Little Liars, which is currently playing on MTV in the UK. The winner of six Teen Choice awards, the show is a fan-favourite, ratings success and Twitter trending topic every time a new show airs.

Beloved by young girls around the world, Hasbro's My Little Pony franchise has been mired in controversy since its debut in the early 1980s. Critics dismissed the cartoons as toy advertisements, and derided their embrace of femininity. The 2010 debut of the openly feminist My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic renewed the backlash, as its broad appeal challenged entrenched notions about gendered entertainment. This first comprehensive study of My Little Pony explores the history and cultural significance of the franchise through Season 5 of Friendship Is Magic and the first three Equestria Girls films. The brand has continued to be on the receiving end of a sexist double standard regarding commercialism in children's entertainment, while masculine cartoons such as the Transformers have been spared similar criticism.