# What is the best American soap opera of all time?

> Daytime staples that ran for half a century meet primetime sagas built on cliffhangers and big hair. Evil twins and amnesia included at no extra charge.

*By YPB Team · Published November 1, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-american-soap-opera-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **As the World Turns** — score 1000/1000
   CBS soap set in Oakdale that ran for 54 years and introduced the first gay male kiss on daytime.
2. **Guiding Light** — score 891/1000
   Began on radio in 1937 and became the longest-running drama in broadcast history.
3. **General Hospital** — score 848/1000
   ABC daytime drama set in Port Charles, on air since 1963 and famed for Luke and Laura.
4. **Dark Shadows** — score 752/1000
   Gothic 1960s soap that added vampire Barnabas Collins and became a cult phenomenon.
5. **Search for Tomorrow** — score 734/1000
   Pioneering daytime soap that ran from 1951 to 1986 on CBS and NBC.
6. **Peyton Place** — score 636/1000
   Groundbreaking 1960s primetime soap that launched Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal.
7. **The Young and the Restless** — score 382/1000
   CBS soap about the Newmans and Abbotts that has led daytime ratings for decades.
8. **The Bold and the Beautiful** — score 382/1000
   Fashion-world soap about the Forrester family and one of TV's most-watched shows worldwide.
9. **Dallas** — score 382/1000
   Primetime oil-dynasty saga whose 'Who shot J.R.?' cliffhanger gripped the world.
10. **Days of Our Lives** — score 382/1000
   NBC soap launched in 1965, known for its hourglass opening and Salem supercouples.
11. **Another World** — score 0/1000
   NBC soap that pioneered the hour-long daytime format and spawned several spin-offs.

Tags: usa, tv shows, classics, soap operas