A Different Kind of soap opera
Aug 03, 2021
3 minutes
By Michael O’Donnell
![f061-01](https://article-imgs.scribdassets.com/3rfb85ru688utarw/images/fileYM8G6VOX.jpg)
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Daytime soap operas were first performed and listened to on radio in the 1930s and ’40s. They made the transition to television in 1949 when the first 15-minute episode of These Are My Children aired on a Chicago TV station.
In the early days of television, even into the early 1970s, episodes were performed live, giving each broadcast the feeling of a stage play. Ensemble casts learned their lines and played their parts five days a week. These serialized programs were named soap operas because they were sponsored by makers of cleaning products
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