Best movies & TV Shows like All My Children

In the feature-length documentary SOAP LIFE, producers John Grossman and Matthew D’Amato attempt to find out why, with millions of viewers, these icons of American culture are disappearing from the television landscape. SOAP LIFE features interviews with actors, directors, producers, writers, and fans to get their perspective on the changing face of daytime television.

An analysis of director Sidney Lumet's work (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead) in his own words, based on a five-day interview recorded shortly before his death.

Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they get better.

Reverend Eric Camden and his wife Annie have always had their hands full caring for seven children, not to mention the friends, sweethearts and spouses that continually come and go in the Camden household.

Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen stars Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s which featured entirely or almost-entirely black casts. Others included The Cosby Show, A Different World, and 227.

American Dreams is an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network, produced by Once A Frog and Dick Clark Productions in association with Universal Network Television and NBC Studios. The series was created by Jonathan Prince and developed by Josh Goldstein and Prince; the latter was also one of the executive producers with Dick Clark. It debuted on September 29, 2002. The show is set mostly in Philadelphia. It initially aired on Sundays at 8:00 pm Eastern time, but moved to the same time on Wednesdays from March 9, 2005, to the third season finale. The show tells the story of the Pryor family of Philadelphia during the mid-1960s. Season one takes place in 1963–64, season two in 1964–65, and season three in 1965–66. The show was known as Our Generation when it debuted in Australia, however it was changed back to American Dreams when it returned for the second season. The theme song "Generation" was written and performed by Emerson Hart, lead singer of the band Tonic. The song earned Hart an ASCAP award for Best Theme Song of Television in 2003. The show was the 2003 TV Land Awards "Future Classic" winner.

Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC for 35 years from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. Set in the fictional town of Bay City, the show in its early years opens with announcer Bill Wolff intoning its epigram, “We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds,” which Phillips said represented the difference between “the world of events we live in, and the world of feelings and dreams that we strive for.” Another World focused less on the conventional drama of domestic life as seen in other soap operas, and more on exotic melodrama between families of different classes and philosophies.

Continuing drama combining romance and intrigue set against the glittering backdrop of Beverly Hills and the American fashion industry.

The coming of age events and everyday life-lessons of Cory Matthews, a Philadelphian who grows up from a young boy to a married man.

Brotherly Love is an American sitcom that ran from September 16, 1995 to April 1, 1996, on NBC, and then moved to The WB, where it aired from September 15, 1996 until May 18, 1997. The series was created by Jonathan Schmock and Jim Vallely, and produced by Witt/Thomas Productions in association with Touchstone Television and Walt Disney Television. The primary focus of the series is on the relationship of three brothers, played by Joey Lawrence, Matthew Lawrence and Andrew Lawrence.

Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives.

The world's first mega-soap, and one of the most popular ever produced, Dallas had it all. Beautiful women, expensive cars, and men playing Monopoly with real buildings. Famous for one of the best cliffhangers in TV history, as the world asked "Who shot J.R.?" A slow-burner to begin with, Dallas hit its stride in the 2nd season, with long storylines and expert character development. Dallas ruled the airwaves in the 1980's.

Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama that portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college.

The Horton and Brady broods endure the romantic trials of life in Salem, a Midwestern hamlet filled with evil geniuses, star-crossed lovers and a rich family history.

Looking down on her friends and family isn't a way of life for Mary Alice Young... it's a way of death. One day, in her perfect house, in the loveliest of suburbs, Mary Alice ended it all. Now she's taking us into the lives of her family, friends and neighbors, commenting from her elevated P.O.V.

Set in the fictional Midlands town of Letherbridge, defined as being close to the city of Birmingham, this soap opera follows the staff and families of a doctor's surgery.

Follows two of America’s wealthiest families, the Carringtons and the Colbys, as they feud for control over their fortune and their children focusing on Fallon Carrington, the daughter of billionaire Blake Carrington, and her soon-to-be stepmother, Cristal, a Hispanic woman marrying into this WASP family and America’s most powerful class.

The everyday lives of working-class residents of Albert Square, a traditional Victorian square of terrace houses surrounding a park in the East End of London's Walford borough.

The lives of several families in the Yorkshire Dales revolve around a farm and the nearby village. With murders, affairs, lies, deceit, laughter and tears, it's all there in the village.

Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. A total of 227 episodes were produced. The series revolves around the feuding factions of the wealthy Gioberti/Channing family in the Californian wine industry. Jane Wyman starred as Angela Channing, the tyrannical matriarch of the Falcon Crest Winery, alongside Robert Foxworth as Chase Gioberti, Angela's nephew who returns to Falcon Crest following the death of his father. The series was set in the fictitious Tuscany Valley northeast of San Francisco.

Families, friends, enemies and lovers experience life-changing events in the large upstate New York city of Port Charles, which has a busy hospital, upscale hotel, cozy diner and dangerous waterfront frequented by the criminal underworld.

Guiding Light is an American television soap opera that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running television drama in history, broadcast from 1952 until 2009, preceded by a 15-year broadcast on radio. Guiding Light stands as the third longest-running program in all of broadcast history; only the Norwegian children's radio program Lørdagsbarnetimen and the American country music radio program Grand Ole Opry have been on the air longer. On April 1, 2009, it was announced that CBS canceled Guiding Light after a 72-year run due to low ratings. The show taped its final scenes for CBS on August 11, 2009, and its final episode on the network aired on September 18, 2009.

Home and Away is set in the fictional town of Summer Bay, a coastal town in New South Wales, and follows the personal and professional lives of the people living in the area. The show initially focused on the Fletcher family, Pippa and Tom Fletcher and their five foster children Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Keating, who would go on to become one of the show's longest-running characters. The show also originally and currently focuses on the Stewart family. During the early 2000s, the central storylines focused on the Sutherlands and later, the Hunters. Home and Away had proved popular when it premiered in 1988 and had risen to become a hit in Australia, and after only a few weeks, the show tackled its first major and disturbing storyline, the rape of Carly Morris; it was one of the first shows to feature such storylines during the early timeslot. H&A has tackled many adult-themed and controversial storylines; something rarely found in its restricted timeslot.

Hotel is an American prime time drama series which aired on ABC from September 21, 1983 to May 5, 1988 in the timeslot following Dynasty. Based on Arthur Hailey's 1965 novel of the same name, the series was produced by Aaron Spelling and set in the elegant and fictitious St. Gregory Hotel in San Francisco. Establishing shots of the hotel were filmed in front of The Fairmont San Francisco atop the Nob Hill neighborhood. Episodes followed the activities of passing guests, as well as the personal and professional lives of the hotel staff.

The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.

Listen Up! is an American situation comedy that aired on CBS from September 20, 2004 until April 25, 2005. The sitcom was based loosely on the life and exploits of the popular sportswriter and sports-media personality Tony Kornheiser. Its principal executive producer was Jason Alexander, who was also the lead actor. Despite decent-to-good ratings, the show was canceled by CBS on May 18, 2005; "rising production costs" was the major reason officially given for the cancellation.

Follow the lives of a group of young adults living in a brownstone apartment complex on Melrose Place, in Los Angeles, California.

Models Inc. is an American prime time soap opera that aired on the Fox television network during the 1994-1995 television season. It is the third series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. The series was created by Charles Pratt, Jr. and Frank South, and executive produced by Aaron Spelling, Charles Pratt, Jr., Frank South, and E. Duke Vincent.

One Life to Live is an American soap opera broadcast on television for more than 43 years on the ABC network, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes via The Online Network since April 29, 2013. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature ethnically and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social issues. One Life to Live was expanded from 30 minutes to 45 minutes on July 26, 1976, and then to an hour on January 16, 1978.

Password is an American television game show which was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions. The host was Allen Ludden, who had previously been well known as the host of the G.E. College Bowl. Password originally aired for 1,555 daytime telecasts each weekday from October 2, 1961 to September 15, 1967 on CBS, along with weekly prime time airings from January 2, 1962 to September 9, 1965 and December 25, 1966 to May 22, 1967. An additional 1,099 daytime shows aired from April 5, 1971 to June 27, 1975 on ABC. The show's announcers were Jack Clark and Lee Vines on CBS and John Harlan on ABC. Two revivals later aired on NBC from 1979–1982 and 1984–1989, followed by a prime time version on CBS from 2008–2009. In 2013, TV Guide ranked it #8 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.

Philly is an American television series created by Steven Bochco that focused on criminal defense attorney Kathleen Maguire. It lasted a full season and was canceled due to low ratings. The final episode was advertised heavily as the series finale, a move not commonly used in network promotion, for a series lasting only one season. The complete series is not on DVD, but is viewable on Netflix in HD and 5.1 Surround Sound. The series briefly aired in syndication on Universal HD in 2008.

Based on the Pretty Little Liars series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard, the series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison. One year later, they begin receiving messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.

Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera that premiered on September 3, 1951, on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast, it was the longest-running non-news program on television. This record would later be broken by Hallmark Hall of Fame, which premiered on Christmas Eve 1951 and still airs occasionally. The show was created by Roy Winsor and was first written by Agnes Nixon for thirteen weeks and, later, by Irving Vendig.

Thomas & Friends is a British children's television series, which had its first broadcast on the ITV network on 4 September 1984. It is based on The Railway Series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry. These books deal with the adventures of a group of anthropomorphised locomotives and road vehicles who live on the fictional Island of Sodor. The books were based on stories Wilbert told to entertain his son, Christopher during his recovery from measles. From Series one to four, many of the stories are based on events from Awdry's personal experience.

Today is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and is the fifth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007. Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when it was beaten by Good Morning America yet again. In 2002, Today was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time.

River City is a television soap opera, first broadcast in Scotland on BBC Scotland on 24 September 2002. River City storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional district of Shieldinch in Glasgow. The series primarily centres around the residents of Shieldinch, their houses, flats and apartments and its neighbouring streets, namely Montego Street and which encompasses a pub, bistro, community centre, café and various small businesses, in addition to a subway station and basketball court. The series was originally screened as two half-hour episodes per week. Today, one hour-long episode is broadcast each week - usually Tuesday evenings on BBC One Scotland, repeated Sunday afternoons on either BBC One Scotland or BBC Two Scotland. In Australia, River City is screened 11:00am weekdays on Seven's British-oriented multichannel 7TWO.

This Morning features a variety of news, as well as show business, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, home and garden, food, tech, live phone-ins, and competitions.

The daily soap that follows the loves, lives and misdemeanours of a group of people living in the Chester village of Hollyoaks where anything could, and frequently does, happen...

Old Bear Stories was a BAFTA award winning stop frame animation television series for children based on the Old Bear and Friends books by Jane Hissey. Jane Hissey also created the television series, starting it on 24 September 1993, and creating 3 seasons, which ended on 24 December 1997 with a double-length Christmas special. In all, 41 episodes were made. The series was produced by Ealing Animation and was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV. Episodes have subsequently been repeated on Channel 5 in the UK, and are also broadcast in the United States and other countries worldwide. The show also aired for a short time on the CBC morning children's block in Canada. It also aired in the United States as part of Cartoon Network's Small World show. Episodes of the series were released on VHS by Carlton Video.

Acorralada is an American telenovela produced by Venevisión. Univision aired Acorralada from January 2007 to October 2007 on weekday afternoons at 2 pm central. It was rebroadcast in late 2011 through April 2012 on Univision's sister network, Telefutura. It was filmed in Miami, Florida, and lasted about 187 episodes. It is the second long-running telenovela that Venevisión Productions has produced without its former co-producer Fonovideo.

Dr. Megan Hunt was in a class of her own, a brilliant neurosurgeon at the top of her game. But her world is turned upside down when a devastating car accident puts an end to her time in the operating room. Megan resumes her career as a medical examiner, determined to solve the puzzle of who or what killed the victims.

When Emily Thorne moves to the Hamptons, everyone wonders about the new girl, but she knows everything about them, including what they did to her family. Years ago, they took everything from her. Now, one by one, she's going to make them pay.

Crossroads is a British television soap opera set in a fictional motel near Birmingham, England. Created by Hazel Adair and Peter Ling, the commercial ITV network originally broadcast the series between 1964 and 1988. Produced by ATV and later by Central it became a byword for cheap production values, particularly in the 1970s and early 1980s. The series was revived in a glossier version by Carlton Television in 2001, but was again cancelled in 2003. The original theme tune was composed by Tony Hatch, and notably covered by Paul McCartney & Wings on their 1975 album Venus and Mars. A new version, which was first aired in 1987 when the series was relaunched as Crossroads, Kings Oak, was composed by Raf Ravenscroft and Max Early.

Laerte’s obsessive jealousy brings his relationship with Helena to an end on their wedding day. Twenty years later, he meets Luiza, the daughter of his long lost love. The two fall in love and stir up dormant feelings that profoundly affect Helena’s marriage and her relationship with her daughter. Defying everyone, Laerte and Luiza decide to follow their love to the highest bounds, leaving a trail of conflicts and pain along the way.

The Bay follows the affluent, yet dysfunctional Bay City residents living in a town cursed by the spirit of Senator Red Garrett, the grandfather of socialite Sara Garrett. Their lives are riddled with sex, lies, & never-ending scandals.

A Philadelphia couple are in mourning after an unspeakable tragedy creates a rift in their marriage and opens the door for a mysterious force to enter their home.

Decisiones is a Telemundo-produced Spanish-language television anthology of steamy melodramas about passion and sex in the modern world. The 30-minute-long series features impassioned people thrust into amorous adventures and pushed to their breaking points. Unlike much Spanish-language dramatic fare, each show contains a complete story. According to Telemundo, these fervid tales are "inspired by real-life cases of everyday heroes". The network bills the show as a mix of drama and reality. Telemundo also broadcast English subtitles of many episodes as closed captions on CC3. Decisiones' first aired on Telemundo from May 9 to August 8, 2005 with Candela Ferro hosting. It returned to the prime-time schedule from September 26, 2005 to April 13, 2007, when it made room for the serial Sin Vergüenza. A third run began in daytime on August 22, 2007 with the title Decisiones de mujeres hosted by Rashel Diaz. On September 4, 2007, a 50-episode season of Decisiones began production in Puerto Rico by a division of Telemundo, Telemundo of Puerto Rico Studios. The season debuted on November 12, 2007, hosted by Cynthia Olavarria. As of April, 2008, over 500 episodes of this series had been produced.

The soap that introduced Erica Kane and her many husbands to the masses launched on Jan. 5, 1970, and won a number of Best Drama Emmys along the way. Set in Pine Valley, a fictional East Coast burb, `AMC' was created by the prolific Agnes Nixon and has been a soap with a social conscience, tackling issues like addiction, abortion and homosexuality. In fact, it featured daytime's first lesbian kiss, between Erica's daughter Bianca and con woman Lena Kundera, who later stole her heart.

Soñar no Cuesta Nada is a Miami-made telenovela that was produced by and seen first on Univisión and later on Venevisión. This telenovela lasted 191 episodes and was distributed internationally by Venevisión International. On October 1, 2007, Cadenatres, a new Mexican television network, began airing the telenovela.

A fond remembrance of and tribute to the uniquely American institution of the horror movie host.