Best tv shows like Days of Our Lives
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, realistic, sentimental, serious, emotional, campy
Best tv shows and movies like Days of Our Lives (1965):
Similar in 80%
All My Children (1970)
Plot Summary:
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC for 41 years, from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network since April 29, 2013 via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia which is modeled on the actual Philadelphia suburb of Rosemont. The original series featured Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most popular characters. The title of the series refers to the bonds of humanity. All My Children was the first new network daytime drama to debut in the 1970s. Originally owned by Creative Horizons, Inc., the company created by Nixon and her husband, Bob, the show was sold to ABC in January 1975. The series started at a half-hour in per-installment length, then was expanded to a full hour on April 25, 1977. Earlier, the show had experimented with the full-hour format for one week starting on June 30, 1975, after which Ryan's Hope premiered. From 1970 to 1990, All My Children was recorded at ABC's TV18 at 101 West 67th St, now a 50-story apartment tower. From March 1990 to December 2009, it was taped at ABC's television studio TV23 at 320 West 66th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. In December 2009, the locale for taping the series moved from the costly New York City to California. The show was then produced in Stages 1 and 2 at the Andrita Studios in Los Angeles, California, and is now produced at the Connecticut Film Center in Stamford, Connecticut. All My Children started taping in high definition on January 4, 2010 and began airing in high definition on February 3, 2010. All My Children became the third soap opera to be produced and broadcast in high definition.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, saga
Similar in 86%
General Hospital (1963)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, medical drama, serious, emotional, realistic, captivating
Similar in 75%
Good Times, Bad Times (1990)
Plot Summary:
Goede tijden, slechte tijden, also known as GTST, is the longest-running Dutch soap opera, which began on 1 October 1990 on RTL4. The programme was the first daily soap in the Netherlands. The soap is produced by Joop van den Ende and to date over 4,000 episodes have been broadcast. It was inspired by the Australian soap The Restless Years, although it started following its own course during the third season. GTST is broadcast Monday to Friday at 20:00. Around 1.5 million viewers watch each episode. It is the highest rated soap opera in the Netherlands. The soap mainly revolves around the lives of the families Alberts, Sanders, De Jong, Van Houten and Bouwhuis. It all takes place in the fictional town of Meerdijk. Like any other soap, marriage, divorce, kidnapping and business are a few of the ingredients of GTST, although in recent years, GTST has become known for writing and producing more controversial storylines. GTST is also known for having a summer break each year, ending a season sometime in June with a cliffhanger, only to resume three months later in September. Although the early cliffhangers often revolved around family drama, later cliffhangers have often revolved around disasters and unexpected twists.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, serious, realistic, saga
Similar in 82%
Forbidden Love (1995)
Plot Summary:
Verbotene Liebe is a German television soap opera created by Reg Watson for Das Erste. The show is set primarily in the German city of Düsseldorf although, at times, the city of Cologne and the Spanish island of Majorca have figured prominently in the show's story lines. First broadcast on 2 January 1995, Verbotene Liebe was originally broadcast in 24-minute episodes, five times a week. It expanded to 45-minute episodes on 21 June 2011 and trimmed back to 40-minute episodes on 23 January 2012 to accommodate an adjusted time-slot. In 2006, Pay-TV network Passion began broadcasting episodes of the show from the beginning. Verbotene Liebe was initially based on original story and character outlines from the Australian soap opera Sons and Daughters, before evolving into a show of its own as the series progressed. The show originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Anstetten family and the middle-class Brandner family. More specifically, it dealt with the story of Jan Brandner and Julia von Anstetten, two strangers whose fascination for each other leads them to fall in love, neither of them cognizant of the fact that they are twins separated by their parents. It is this story of forbidden love that gave the series its title. As cast members left the show, many characters were written out of the storyline, and new ones were added. Sometimes this included whole families. Writers attempted to phase out the dwindling Brandner family by introducing a new middle-class family, the Prozeskis, as foils for the wealthy Anstettens, but the Brandners proved to be too popular with fans, and the Prozeskis left as quickly as they came. Currently, much of the drama centers around the Wolf family and the aristocratic Lahnstein family.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 684
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: soap opera, art house, sentimental, serious, realistic, gay cinema
Similar in 82%
Dallas (1978)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, serious, realistic, melancholic, uplifting, non-linear, family saga, retro, romantic drama, captivating
Similar in 84%
Thirtysomething (1987)
Plot Summary:
Thirtysomething is an American television drama about a group of baby boomers in their late thirties. It was created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick for MGM/UA Television Group and The Bedford Falls Company, and aired on ABC. It premiered in the U.S. on September 29, 1987. It lasted four seasons, with the last of its 85 episodes airing on May 28, 1991. The title of the show was designed as thirtysomething by Kathie Broyles, who combined the words of the original title, Thirty Something. In 1997, "The Go Between" and "Samurai Ad Man" were ranked #22 on TV Guide′s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. In 2002, Thirtysomething was ranked #19 on TV Guide′s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, and in 2013 TV Guide ranked it #10 in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, clever, touching, serious, realistic, talky, stylized, telenovela
Similar in 83%
Anna (2008)
Plot Summary:
Anna und die Liebe is the eleventh Telenovela made in Germany. It has aired since August 25, 2008 on German channel Sat.1 and Austrian Channel ORF 1.
IMDB Rating: 3.0
IMDB Votes: 223
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sentimental, romantic, soap opera, serious, emotional, realistic, telenovela
Similar in 75%
The World of the Married (2020)
Plot Summary:
Ji Sun Woo is a family medicine doctor. She is married to Lee Tae Oh and they have a son. She seems to have everything, including a successful career and a happy family, but she is betrayed by her husband and others. Meanwhile, Lee Tae Oh dreams of becoming a famous movie director. He runs an entertainment business with the support of his wife Ji Sun Woo. Even though he loves his wife, Lee Tae Oh falls into a dangerous relationship.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: South Korea
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, emotional, realistic
Similar in 84%
A Shelter for Love (2012)
Plot Summary:
Un refugio para el amor is a Mexican Spanish-language telenovela produced by Ignacio Sada Madero for Televisa. It is a remake of the Venezuelan telenovela La Zulianita, written by Delia Fiallo and adapted by Nora Alemán and Georgina Tinoco. Zuria Vega and Gabriel Soto star as the main protagonists, while Jessica Coch, Humberto Elizondo, Laura Flores and Frances Ondiviela star as the main antagonists.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 148
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, realistic, serious, soap opera, telenovela
Similar in 89%
Head over Heels (2013)
Plot Summary:
De que te quiero, te quiero is a Mexican telenovela produced by Lucero Suárez for Televisa. It is a remake of Carita pintada, a Venezuelan telenovela written by Valentina Párraga. Livia Brito is the protagonist, with Juan Diego Covarrubias as the dual protagonist/antagonist. Esmeralda Pimentel stars as the antagonist.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 116
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, serious, realistic, novela, soap opera, telenovela
Similar in 88%
Timeless Love (2010)
Plot Summary:
Renata, a spirited woman, is treated cruelly by her mother and sister. Falling in love with Jerónimo changes her life for the better, but his misguided quest to avenge his brother's death jeopardizes their relationship.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 288
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration:
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, soap opera, captivating, novela, crying, telenovela
Similar in 81%
Don't mess with an angel (2008)
Plot Summary:
Cuidado Con El Ángel is a Telenovela distributed by Televisa starring Maite Perroni and William Levy. The telenovela, a production of Nathalie Lartilleux, premiered on June 9, 2008 and finished its broadcast March 6, 2009. It had millions of viewers worldwide, and broke records in America.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, soap opera, touching, emotional, novela, captivating, realistic, crying, telenovela
Similar in 79%
The One Who Couldn't Love (2011)
Plot Summary:
La que no podía amar is a Mexican telenovela produced by José Alberto Castro for Televisa. Ximena Suarez wrote the script based on the original story by Delia Fiallo. The cast was headed by Ana Brenda Contreras, Jorge Salinas, and Jose Ron, while Susana González, Julián Gil, Mar Contreras and Ana Bertha Espin portrayed the villains.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 338
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: emotional, sentimental, realistic, captivating, novela, psychological, soap opera, serious, telenovela
Similar in 77%
Until the End of Time (2014)
Plot Summary:
After their father's death, Sofía Ripoll, the oldest of three sisters, takes over the family's fictional successful chocolate factory. Though she is engaged to a man who uses her for money, she quickly falls in love with Salvador Cruz, a former racecar driver who takes a job as her chauffeur.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, sentimental, soap opera, telenovela
Similar in 76%
Burden of Guilt (2009)
Plot Summary:
Mi pecado is a Mexican telenovela that was produced by Televisa and aired on Canal de las Estrellas from 15 June 2009 through 13 November 2009. Starring Maite Perroni, Eugenio Siller and as adult protagonist Daniela Castro who is also the main villain. Mi pecado tells the story of young lovers Lucrecia and Julián, who are torn apart by their feuding families following the tragic death of Lucrecia's brother César when the three are just children.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 353
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration:
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, novela, soap opera, telenovela
Similar in 84%
Abyss of Passion (2012)
Plot Summary:
Rosendo Arango, the owner of Grupo La Anita, is married to Alfonsina. They have one son, Damian. Estefanía Bouvier is married to Augusto Castanon and they have one daughter, Elisa. Rosendo cheats on his wife with Carmina Bouvier, Estefanía's sister. Damian and Elisa become friends because Augusto and Rosendo were best friends. But one day, Rosendo and Carmina try to go away from La Ermita, the pueblo in which they live in. But, Estefanía, who had found out about their plans, wants to prevent this, shuts Carmina in her room and then goes with Rosendo in his car, trying to convince him not to run away with Carmina. They have an accident and die and everyone thinks they were lovers.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 338
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Mexico
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, sentimental, captivating, psychological, soap opera, novela, telenovela
Similar in 88%
Knots Landing (1979)
Plot Summary:
The domestic adventures, misdeeds and everyday interactions of five families living on a cul-de-sac in a small California community.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, serious, realistic, telenovela
Similar in 79%
One Life to Live (1968)
Plot Summary:
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. One Life to Live heavily focuses on the members and relationships of the Lord family. Actress Erika Slezak began portraying original and central heroine Victoria "Viki" Lord on March 1971 and played the character continuously for the rest of the show's run on ABC Daytime, winning a record six Daytime Emmy Awards for the role. In 2002, the series won an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. One Life to Live was the last American daytime soap opera taped in New York City, based outside the Los Angeles area, and is now the second American daytime soap opera taped at the Connecticut Film Center in Stamford, Connecticut.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, emotional, serious, sincere, saga, exciting
Similar in 77%
The Young and the Restless (1973)
Plot Summary:
The rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern metropolis, Genoa City. The lives and loves of a wide variety of characters mingle through the generations, dominated by the Newman, Abbott, Baldwin and Winters families.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 37 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, realistic, serious, emotional, saga
Similar in 80%
The Bold and the Beautiful (1987)
Plot Summary:
Continuing drama combining romance and intrigue set against the glittering backdrop of Beverly Hills and the American fashion industry.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 19 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, serious, emotional, soap opera, sex comedy, romantic drama, saga, telenovela, masterpiece
Similar in 75%
Ella (2010)
Plot Summary:
Years ago, a late nurse's young daughter, Ella, was discredited with stepfather Norbert by his wicked daughter Clio and send off to and exploited by her aunt 'tarantula', her only comfort being the friendship of young Jens. Once 18, Ella leaves and ends up in Lier, where Dr. Norbert is running a private clinic owned by recluse Nicolas De Prins's family. Intrigues abound long before Ella meets and recognizes either relative, her mysterious dad or Jens, who ends up comatose after chasing her. Meanwhile Ella made new friends and moved in with a loony hairdresser and her gay deputy Anthony.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 52
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Belgium
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, telenovela
Similar in 83%
All That Matters (2006)
Plot Summary:
Alles was zählt is a German television soap opera first broadcast on RTL on September 4, 2006. The original plot revolved around Diana Sommer's dream to become a world class ice skater. She fell in love with Julian Herzog, who signed her at the prestigious Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Center, run by the unscrupulous Steinkamp dynasty. Diana and Julian eventually became a couple, but in November 2007, Julian suffered a brain hemorrhage and died during their wedding. Diana remained in Essen until January 2009, when she left to join a skating centre in Halle. The story continues to revolve around the Steinkamp Sport and Wellness Centre and its quest to become a sporting powerhouse, as well as the lives of the characters who work at and around the Centre.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Germany
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, soap opera
Similar in 87%
Home and Away (1988)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, saga, telenovela
Similar in 78%
Dallas (2012)
Plot Summary:
J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen Ewing are all back at Southfork, with plenty of secrets, schemes and betrayals in mind. This time, they're joined by the next generation of Ewings, who take ambition and deception to a new level.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: soap opera, realistic, serious, captivating, stylized, erotic, talky
Similar in 85%
A Country Practice (1981)
Plot Summary:
A Country Practice was an Australian television drama series. At its inception, one of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, who had wrote the pilot episode and entered a script contest for the network in 1979, coming third and winning a merit award. It ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping, Sydney. After its lengthy run on the seven network it was picked up by network ten with a mainly new cast from April to November 1994 for 30 episodes, although the ten series was not as successful as its predecessor . The Channel Seven series was also filmed on location in Pitt Town, while, the Channel Ten series was filmed on location in Emerald, Victoria.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 673
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: medical drama, sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
Pasión de gavilanes 2 (2003)
Plot Summary:
Pasión de Gavilanes is a Colombian telenovela that ran for 188 episodes, from 2003 to 2004. Written by Julio Jiménez, it was produced by RTI Colombia in conjunction with the Telemundo network and with the participation of Caracol TV company. In Colombia, it was broadcast by Caracol TV. It is based on the 1994 telenovela Las aguas mansas, also written by Jiménez and produced by RTI, broadcast on Canal Uno.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Colombia, USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, novela, soap opera, romantic, captivating, disturbing, sexual, sexy
Similar in 81%
If Loving You Is Wrong (2014)
Plot Summary:
Follow the relationships of a group of husbands and wives that live and love on the same street. While the neighbors come from very different backgrounds, their lives are similar – raising children, dealing with exes, worrying about money and keeping romance in their relationships. But just below the surface — secrets, lies and deception threaten to destroy what they have built.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious, soap opera, captivating
Similar in 80%
Twice in a Lifetime (1985)
Plot Summary:
A middle-aged steelworker is content with his job and his family, but feels that something is missing in his life. On his 50th birthday, he stops in at a local bar for a drink to celebrate. He finds himself attracted to the young, very sexy barmaid--and, to his surprise, he finds that she is also very attracted to him.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: sentimental, emotional, realistic, sincere, touching, serious, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 89%
7th Heaven (1996)
Plot Summary:
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on The WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007. The series finale was scheduled for May 8, 2006; however, the show was renewed by The CW when the intended final episode received high ratings. The final season premiered on Monday, September 25, 2006 and ended on May 13, 2007. 7th Heaven is the longest-running series that has ever aired on The WB and is the longest-running family drama in television history. It is also the longest-running show produced by Aaron Spelling. Dan Foliart composed the theme song "7th Heaven", which is performed by Steve Plunkett in the introduction of each episode.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, semi serious, sincere, touching, feel good, realistic, biblical, family comedy, romantic drama, religious drama
Similar in 89%
The Thorn Birds (1983)
Plot Summary:
This mini series covers 60 years in the lives of the Cleary family, brought from New Zealand to Australia to run their aunt Mary Carson's ranch. The story centers on their daughter, Meggie, and her love for the family's priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart. Meggie tries to forget Ralph by marrying dashing stockman Luke O'Neill, but she and Ralph are soon reunited, with tragic consequences for them both.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 460 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, family saga, emotional, captivating, serious, heartbreaking, romantic drama, historical drama, realistic