ABC Generations, the first soap opera with an African-American family at the forefront.
ABC is airing a two-hour retrospective on soap operas called The Story of Soaps Tuesday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, featuring dozens of stars who got their start on daytime TV.
If you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch The Story of Soaps on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV or other streaming device:
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Watch ABC on Hulu With Live TV
ABC (live in select markets) is included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies. You can watch immediately with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch The Story of Soaps live on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu with Live TV comes with both its extensive on-demand library (which will include The Story of Soaps after it airs) and 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
Watch ABC on AT&T TV Now
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, and they all include ABC (live in select markets):
Once signed up for AT&T TV Now, you can watch The Story of Soaps live on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Watch ABC on YouTube TV
YouTube TV comes with 70-plus live TV channels, including ABC (live in select markets):
Once signed up for YouTube TV, you can then watch The Story of Soaps live on your computer via the YouTube website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the YouTube app.
If you can’t watch live, YouTube TV comes with included DVR.
‘The Story of Soaps’ Preview
Soap operas used to be some of the most talked-about shows on television. Dozens of them have come and gone over the years, though now each major broadcast network is down to just one or two each: General Hospital on ABC, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless on CBS, and Days of Our Lives on NBC.
With that in mind, ABC is taking a look back at the early days of soap operas, the heyday in the 1980s and 1990s, dozens of current stars who got their start on a soap opera, and how the rise of reality TV has made it hard for soap operas to compete.
The ABC press release teases:
The Story of Soaps explores how no genre of television has laid deeper roots into our cultural consciousness and serialized storytelling than the soap opera. In today’s shifting television landscape, The Story of Soaps traces how female creators migrated from radio to television to become the dominant force in daytime for more than three decades.
Today, that legacy is alive and well all over prime time and reality, and much of what propels modern television traces its roots back to those first sprawling, steamy storylines. “The Story of Soaps” takes an extensive look at this iconic, impactful genre and the cultural phenomenon its massive impact has had on the world at large. The Story of Soaps brings together an impressive company of experts and familiar voices to help illustrate this remarkable story.
Guests include Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Andy Cohen, Bryan Cranston, Eileen Davidson, Vivica A. Fox, Genie Francis, Jon Hamm, Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, Susan Lucci, Donna Mills, Denise Richards, John Stamos, Melody Thomas Scott, Chandra Wilson and more.
This is the third Story Of special to air on ABC. The first special, called The Story of Diana, was a two-night event that commemorated the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death, and the second special, The Story of the Royals, documented the lives of Britain’s royal family. They both earned over 10 million total viewers.
The Story of Soaps airs Tuesday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following Stephen A. Smith’s special After the Dance, which gives viewers an inside look at the ESPN documentary about Michael Jordan that has been airing for the past few weeks.
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How to Watch The Story of Soaps Online Without Cable