Rethinking Daytime Part Eight: Screentime: The Discipline Of Rotation
From left to right: Brook Kerr, Natalie Gumede, laura white, and lisa yamada - abc/itv/BBC/CBS
Soap operas are known for introducing popular and long-running characters, including people of color, onto the canvas. Both American daytime dramas and primetime soap operas in the United Kingdom tend to position their most notorious and legacy characters at the center of the drama. However, they still have differing approaches to storytelling for their prominent characters. Soap operas in the United States tend to “overexpose” their breakout characters, often leading to saturation and losing depth. Meanwhile, British primetime soap operas protect character longevity by allowing rest periods and supporting roles.
United States: Several American daytime dramas tend to overexpose their star performers of color. For instance, ABC’s General Hospital’s Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) and Portia Robinson (Brooke Kerr) have been central figures since their respective introductions. Their storylines collided when it was revealed they had a past romantic history, leading to the reveal that Ashford is the father of Portia’s daughter, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali). Portia had led them and her ex-husband, Marcus Taggert (Réal Andrews), to believe that Taggert was Trina’s father. Ashford and Portia are now on the outs yet again due to Portia’s lies, a theme that has been recycled since the start of their relationship, without much further development.
The CBS soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful invested two years of development on Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada), who served as the soap’s main villain during this period. Luna’s problematic behaviors were a result of her troubled childhood and feeling neglected by her mother, Poppy Nozawa (Romy Park). For several consecutive months, Yamada topped episode counts significantly over her co-stars of color, some of whom didn’t make any appearances in a given month. Ever since Yamada’s departure in November 2025, The Bold and the Beautiful has yet to depict one of its characters of color with the same significance as Luna. To better develop its characters of color, The Bold and the Beautiful should take notes from its British counterparts and balance the presence of its characters of color organically.
United Kingdom: On the other hand, British primetime soaps don’t overutilize their popular characters of color, which promotes extended critical acclaim and preserves their legacies. On the BBC soap opera Doctors (2000-2024), the character of Princess Buchanan (Laura White) served as the soap’s primary antagonist until her storyline naturally concluded. Princess is initially depicted as a hardworking and ambitious doctor who is keen to learn medicine and advance her career. Over the course of her tenure, she develops into an antagonist on the soap. Her scheming included flirting with various staff members to further her career, manipulating Valerie Pitman (Sarah Moyle) and Sid Vere (Ashley Rice) into completing work for her, covering up mistakes with patients, and blackmailing Scarlett Kiernan (Kia Pegg), all of which contributed to a suspension.
Princess left Doctors nearly a year after her debut. Her significance is preserved by her timely departure and layers. When her mother, Constance Buchanan (Linda Hargreaves), viewers learn of her backstory, which explores Constance's treatment of her, exposing a softer side of Princess. She is later shown to revert to her old ways when she realizes that her colleagues will never side with her, and her schemes get her fired. Hoping to start over, Princess leaves England to become a better person.
Kirsty Soames (Natalie Gumede) was a key player in a groundbreaking domestic violence storyline on ITV’s Coronation Street. In the soap opera’s narrative, Soames was the emotionally abusive partner of Tyrone Dobbs (Alan Halsall). Viewers learn she came from a troubled home, where she was abused by her father, a cycle of violence that Soames couldn’t break. Rather than staying around for years to wreak havoc and become dull, she departs the series when she is sent to prison for her crimes. After she’s sent to prison on perjury charges, Tyrone is granted full custody of Ruby, and Soames is never seen on Coronation Street again.
Conclusion: American daytime dramas and British primetime soaps approach character development for their prominent stars of color differently. Daytime dramas in the United States historically “overexpose” their star performers. This leads to audience fatigue and leaves other characters of color behind. Conversely, primetime soap operas in the United Kingdom are better at balancing their characters of color. In turn, character legacies are preserved, and audiences remain invested.
