The Juiciest Soap Operas to Watch Right Now

Willfully overdramatic and scripted on a never-ending loop, soap operas may vary from fictional town to town, but a legit soap never changes its stripes: There will always be torrid affairs, bonkers storylines, enviable super-couples, and of course five-finger slaps heard round the networks.

Another signature of the frothy genre? TONS of familiar faces. Over the decades, soaps have served as career launching pads for some of Hollywood’s most boldfaced names—looking at Laurence Fishburne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robin Wright, and Kelly Ripa here. Below, we’re listing the top 10 afternoon delights that are either still on the air or streaming online now. So go ahead and get reacquainted with the characters your babysitter introduced you to, like Erica Kane, Malcolm Winters, and Marlena Evans, or fall in love with entirely new ones, like Days’ trailblazing Will and Sonny. Dr. Drake Ramoray would want you to.