This book examines the phenomenon of prime time soap operas on Indian television. An anthropological insight into social issues and practices of contemporary India through the television, this volume analyzes the production of soaps within India’s cultural fabric. It deconstructs themes and issues surrounding the "everyday" and the "middle class" through the fiction of the "popular". In its second edition, this still remains the only book to examine prime time soap operas on Indian television. Without in any way changing the central arguments of the first edition, it adds an essential introductory chapter tracking the tectonic shifts in the Indian "mediascape" over the past decade – including how the explosion of regional language channels and an era of multiple screens have changed soap viewing forever. Meticulously researched and persuasively argued, the book traces how prime time soaps in India still grab the maximum eyeballs and remain the biggest earners for TV channels. The book will be of interest to students of anthropology and sociology, media and cultural studies, visual culture studies, gender and family studies, and also Asian studies in general. It is also an important resource for media producers, both in content production and television channels, as well as for the general reader.

This is the first major study of the roles of women in prime time soap operas. In a comparative analysis of British and North American television soaps, Christine Geraghty examines the relationship between the narratives on the screen and the women viewers who make up the traditional soap audience. Within the structure of many of the most popular soaps, such as Dallas, Dynasty, Coronation Street and EastEnders, the split between public and personal life, reason and emotion, work and leisure is turned into a lynchpin of the plot. The author argues that these themes are also linked to broader social divisions between men and women, divisions which soap operas both question and develop as a source of pleasure. Geraghty analyses the critical role of women characters in the families and communities of soaps and suggests that the utopian possibilities of soaps can be used not just to maintain the status quo, but to promote change and influence attitudes and prejudices. She examines the way in which soaps have been transformed in the last decade, looking at how issues of class, race, sexual orientation and feminism have been handled in the programmes. She argues that in pursuing new audiences more recent soaps such as Brookside may have put at risk the pleasures they have traditionally offered their women viewers. Women and Soap Opera is a detailed, thoughtful and wide-ranging analysis which will become a central work in women’s studies and media and cultural studies courses.

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.

An introduction to the slow-moving world of soap operas includes reviews of major storylines, histories of how each show began, cast lists, and other information on both daytime and evening serials

Beyond Prime Time brings together established television scholars writing new chapters in their areas of expertise that reconsider how programming forms other than prime-time series have been affected by the wide-ranging industrial changes instituted over the past twenty years. The chapters explore the relationship between textual and industrial changes in particular forms such as news, talk, sports, soap operas, syndication, children’s programming, made-for-television movies, public broadcasting, and local programming.

Prime time soaps are often revered long after their runs on television have ended, as Dallas, Twin Peaks, and Beverly Hills 90210 readily demonstrate. Due to their profound impact, it's easy to forget how recently the genre itself was born. Dallas premiered in 1978, and was originally intended to air solely as a five-part mini-series. Then, in 1981, producer Aaron Spelling stepped in and introduced his own ultra-glitzy entry Dynasty. Between these two mega-hits, the era of the nighttime soap was born. Soaps soon spun off into non-traditional avenues as well, in sitcoms like Filthy Rich and the supernatural drama Twin Peaks. Then, with the arrival of the more youth-oriented Fox Network, producers were able to hook an entirely new generation on programs such as Beverly Hills, 90210, Melrose Place, and Party of Five. Pay-cable channels have also stepped into the picture and now act as trendsetters with hits like Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, and The L Word. Now, from the spiritually themed 7th Heaven to the naughty neighbors of ABC's Desperate Housewives, soaps dominate prime time. Prime Time Soaps covers all the major shows within the soap-opera genre, and also investigates all the ways that soaps have contributed to the development of more general television trends. Interviews with producers, actors, and other artistic collaborators also supplement this revealing and entertaining account. Even outside of their genre, these shows continue to influence current programming. Few series on TV today are purely episodic, instead containing on-going storylines involving the personal dilemmas of their characters. Another very recognizable contribution from soaps occurred on the evening of March 21, 1980, when Dallas finished out its third year with J.R. Ewing being shot by an unknown assailant, leaving fans to wait until the fall for the resolution. This was the beginning of the cliffhanger endings that are now implemented by just about every series on television. Prime Time Soaps covers all the major shows, and also investigates all the ways that soaps have contributed to the development of more general television trends. Interviews with producers, actors, and other artistic collaborators supplement this revealing and entertaining account.