Best tv shows like Ryan's Hope
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, originally airing for 13 years on ABC from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989. It revolved around the trials and tribulations within a large Irish-American family in the Riverside district of New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 544
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, touching, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Ryan's Hope (1975):
Similar in 87%
The Doctors (1963)
Plot Summary:
The Doctors is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC Daytime from April 1, 1963, to December 31, 1982. There were 5280 episodes produced, with the 5000th episode airing in November 1981. The series was set in Hope Memorial Hospital in the fictional "Madison," located somewhere in New England.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 235
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: soap opera, informative, medical drama
Similar in 90%
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 89%
Princess Daisy (1983)
Plot Summary:
The lovely Daisy is the daughter of a Russian prince and an American movie star. After her parents are killed, she flees from her half-brother Ram. She fights her way to the top of the modeling profession and falls in love with a company president. But then, her half-brother arrives on the scene, ready to blackmail and destroy her.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 398
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 190 min
Plot tags: sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, romantic drama
Similar in 85%
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 78%
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 88%
Hotel (1983)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, retro, sentimental, feel good, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 81%
Beautiful People (2005)
Plot Summary:
Beautiful People is an American drama television series about a family that moves from New Mexico to The Big Apple to make a fresh start on their lives. The series aired on the ABC Family Network from August 8, 2005, to April 24, 2006, lasting sixteen episodes. Its executive producer was Paul Stupin, who played the same role for Dawson's Creek. Both Daphne Zuniga and Torrey DeVitto later appeared on the fifth and sixth season of One Tree Hill as major recurring roles, although they never shared any screen time.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 88%
The Brown Girls (2002)
Plot Summary:
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IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 23
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Israel
Duration: 480 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, stylized, realistic, saga
Similar in 83%
The Bedford Diaries (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Bedford Diaries is an American television series that premiered March 29, 2006 on The WB and concluded its first season on May 10, 2006. It was canceled on May 18, 2006. The series was created by Tom Fontana and Julie Martin. A week prior to its premiere, The WB posted scenes from the pilot, which might have prompted FCC fines, on its website. A version without explicit images was broadcast on television.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 504
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, semi serious, sentimental, humorous, sexy, realistic, sexual
Similar in 81%
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 76%
Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots (2013)
Plot Summary:
Tyler Perry's The Haves and the Have Nots is a new television drama from the prolific writer, director and producer Tyler Perry. The show follows the complicated dynamic between the rich and powerful Cryer family and the hired help who work in their opulent Savannah, Georgia, mansion.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: soap opera, serious, touching, family saga, emotional, dark, realistic
Similar in 81%
Multiple Sarcasms (2010)
Plot Summary:
Gabriel is a man who on the surface has it all-successful professional life as an architect, a beautiful wife, Annie, and a devoted young daughter, Elizabeth. But slowly it dawns on him that he is not really happy. Gabriel decides that he wants to write a play about the sorry state of his life. He quits his job, gets a pushy literary agent friend to represent him and starts writing. Although his marriage ends in a divorce, the play is success and although his life is different than it was, he is happier.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 716
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, atmospheric, contemplative, touching, offbeat, serious, gloomy
Similar in 76%
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 88%
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 85%
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%
Dynasty (1981)
Plot Summary:
The saga of a wealthy Denver family in the oil business: Blake Carrington, the patriarch; Krystle, his former secretary and wife; his children: Adam, lost in childhood after a kidnapping; Fallon, pampered and spoiled; Steven, openly gay; and Amanda, hidden from him by his ex-wife, the conniving Alexis. Most of the show features the conflict between 2 large corporations, Blake's Denver Carrington and Alexis' ColbyCo.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, captivating, realistic, serious, enigmatic, retro, sex comedy, relaxing, saga, telenovela
Similar in 89%
Neighbours (1985)
Plot Summary:
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems together. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's Sons and Daughters, which aired on the network. Although successful in Melbourne, Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and struggled for months before Seven cancelled it. The show was immediately bought by rival network Ten. After taking over production of the show, the new network had to build replica sets because Seven destroyed the originals to prevent its rival from obtaining them. Ten began screening Neighbours on 20 January 1986, taking off where the previous series left off and commencing with episode 171. Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and in 2005, it was inducted collectively into the Logie Hall of Fame. On 11 January 2011, Neighbours moved to Ten's new digital channel, Eleven. The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in Erinsborough, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. The series primarily centres around the residents of Ramsay Street, a short cul-de-sac, and its neighbouring areas, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, news office and park. Neighbours began with three families created by Watson – the Ramsays, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry. Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South, is the real cul-de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street since 1985. All of the houses featured are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their gardens. The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Australia
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sentimental, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 87%
Days of Our Lives (1965)
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
Similar in 90%
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 89%
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 88%
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 86%
Falcon Crest (1981)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, realistic, serious, captivating, touching, sincere, melancholic, retro, saga, telenovela
Similar in 88%
Providence (1999)
Plot Summary:
Providence is an American television drama series that aired on NBC starring Melina Kanakaredes. The show ran for five seasons from January 8, 1999 until December 20, 2002.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, medical drama, atmospheric
Similar in 86%
Life Goes On (1989)
Plot Summary:
Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989, to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thatcher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky. Life Goes On was the first television series to have a major character with Down syndrome.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 89%
Stella (1990)
Plot Summary:
Barmaid Stella Claire and blueblood Stephen Dallas have very little in common -- except they've fallen in love. When their relationship fails, Stella decides to raise the child they had, Jenny, alone. But Jenny and Stella are far from the perfect mother-daughter pair.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, sentimental, captivating, sad, touching, realistic, sexual, erotic, romantic
Similar in 82%
White Irish Drinkers (2010)
Plot Summary:
A coming of age story set in 1975 working-class Brooklyn, in which two teenage brothers living with their abusive father and their well-meaning but ineffective mother are caught up in a life of petty crime. Older brother Danny concocts a daring scheme to steal enough money for the two to escape, timed around the chaos of an upcoming Rolling Stones concert. The sensitive younger brother, Brian, ultimately has a choice: remain loyal to the brother with whom he shares a powerful love-hate bond, or use his hidden talent as an artist as his own ticket out of their dead-end existence.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, sentimental, bleak, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 75%
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 86%
Felicity (1998)
Plot Summary:
Felicity Porter decides to follow her long time crush to college in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, talky, sex comedy, teen, telenovela
Similar in 75%
Lucky 7 (2013)
Plot Summary:
What would you do if you won the lottery? How would it change your life? Follow a group of seven gas station employees in Queens, New York, who have been chipping into a lottery pool for years, never thinking they'd actually win. They need to be careful what they wish for, because while the money could solve problems for each of them, it will forever change the close-knit bonds these friends have formed.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 669
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, captivating
Similar in 78%
C.P.W. (1995)
Plot Summary:
Central Park West is an American prime time television soap opera that ran from September 1995 to June 1996 on CBS. The series was created and executive produced by Melrose Place's Darren Star. As the title suggests, CPW was set in New York, in the affluent Central Park West area of Manhattan. Actresses Mariel Hemingway, Lauren Hutton, and Raquel Welch portrayed three of the central characters on the show. The program represented CBS's attempt to reestablish itself after a disastrous 1994-95 television season where the network lost a heavy amount of established affiliates due to affiliation switches related to Fox acquiring NFC football rights, and an attempt by the network to attract younger viewers. It was the network's most-promoted new show in many years with a promotional campaign exclusively produced to appeal to younger viewers, and attempted to recapture the network's past nighttime soap glory from the years of Dallas and Knots Landing. The series was not successful and was removed from CBS' schedule mid-season, returning some months later with new additions made to the cast. The retooling was not enough to save the show, which was canceled in June 1996. The failure of the series returned the network quickly back to their traditional broadcasting focus and repairing relations between both the network's new affiliates and their older stations which were frustrated by the network's moves in programming rights and programming within the Laurence Tisch era, which would end shortly thereafter with Westinghouse's purchase of CBS Corporation in 1995.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 368
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, emotional, realistic, soap opera