Soap Operas Back After Covid-19 Shut Down Industry

It is hard to be too upset about trivial things in this age of Covid-19, especially when so many people lost their jobs, their homes, and were struggling simply trying to find food to eat. Put in that context, most other things seem quite trivial.

However, everyone was impacted by this disease, even if one did not lose their job or did not become ill in anyway. The quality of life and the way that people lived their lives changed dramatically, from the food that was available to them, to the ability to go out, even what was on television.

Many were deeply depressed during the early days of this outbreak. Not only were they sheltered inside their home, but many of their favorite programs were off the air. This was true of soap operas as well. While reruns were aired, for the first time since television was created, new episodes of these daytime dramas were not being produced.

That may finally have changed, however, as soap operas are now beginning to return with new episodes. This will keep alive their decade-old streaks, as well as keep alive other facts about soap operas that have helped to make them some of the longest running television series of all-time.

Reality Shows Already Returning

With concerns about social distancing and not having large gatherings, it became apparent that the television and movie industries were going to have to shut down. Clearly, it is difficult to rationalize having large production crews assemble simply to produce primetime programming.

However, this was not true in one particular genre: reality shows. Many of these are filmed with a very small crew, and often the key cast members are people who have already been spending a considerable amount of time around each other, such as with family members or close friends. A few of the shows even began to hit the airways by April.

Finally – Soaps Are Back!

This was still not the case for scripted series. These actors and actresses had been away from each other for months, and film crews were leery of coming back to work out of fear of contracting the illness. Soap opera fans were beginning to think that it might not be until early next year before they had new episodes to watch.

That is no longer the case, as some of these series are starting to begin production again. This includes the longtime running series General Hospital, which began production of new episodes on July 22.

Other longtime favorites, such as The Bold and the Beautiful, are also back under production. However, there are going to be some dramatic changes.

Daytime soaps have built a reputation on steamy romance scenes, but there are fears about putting actors and actresses in close proximity to one another where they can contract the illness. This has Bold executives making dramatic changes to accommodate those concerns.

“We feel almost like television pioneers all these years later because we’re the first ones out, blazing new ways of producing the shows with the current safety standards, and we’re getting the job done. It’s very exciting,” said Bradley Bell, executive producer of the show.

This is just the start of several longtime running soap operas that are back in production. NBC’s Days of our Lives is set to begin production in early September, and CBS’ The Young and the Restless has already been filming new episodes.

Stars Getting on Board

With most of the film and television industry shut down, stars are looking for an outlet to continue their craft. This is drawing some back to soap operas to restart their career.

One such example is Denise Richards, who starred as Shauna Fulton on Bold. She has already been involved in filming for upcoming episodes and has even pointed out that despite the concerns about the spread of Covid-19, there will still be “plenty of love scenes.”

Back to Normal

While the pandemic may have shut down the industry for a short time, fans need not have concerns that the storylines they have come to love will change in any way. The same love triangles, betrayals, and plot twists that have become staples within the industry will return with a vengeance.

With production returning, it will not be long before fans are once again enjoying their favorite daytime soap operas. Should this be successful, no one should be surprised if primetime programming resumes soon as well. Fans are clearly going to be excited knowing that this pandemic will not hold hostage their favorite soap operas any longer. Let the cat fights begin!