How Hollyoaks' new format proves why soaps can survive

This has led to Channel 4 biting the bullet with a reduction in episodes for their flagship soap, Hollyoaks, which took effect on 9th September.

Having ditched the terrestrial broadcast last year in favour of releasing episodes on the channel’s streaming platform first, the show has cut down from five to three, slightly shorter, episodes a week.

It’s a bold move to future-proof the brand in a volatile landscape, and more accurately reflect how the younger demographic are consuming content, but it’s also not the first time a soap’s transmission pattern has changed and, crucially, fans have adjusted.

"I remember me and my mum being mortified when Coronation Street moved to a Sunday in the 1990s," recalls Hollyoaks' executive producer Hannah Cheers, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com.

"We all fear change and Sunday was not a Corrie day! But quickly we moved with it and couldn’t remember when it wasn’t part of our routine.

"I was raised as a very traditional soap viewer, which is still my reflex position. When we began discussing the reduction for Hollyoaks, I immediately put myself in the place of the audience and asked what they would feel, what would this mean to them, and what does it mean for the brand?"

For those insisting the genre is in unavoidable decline, the decision may fuel their argument, but it’s also a way of streamlining and more aggressively targeting what Hollyoaks has to offer in a saturated landscape.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s also not driven by a lack of interest – record viewing figures announced in July showed significant rises in views both digital-first and on E4. Creatively, Hollyoaks is the strongest it’s been for years, and it is entering this new era in rude health.

That’s not to say the transition hasn’t been difficult. Cheers and her team had the tricky task of scaling back the production, which meant job losses among cast and crew and working out the logistics of how a complex, non-stop machine would run in this new model.

"I had to work out the nuts and bolts from the production side - the 'scaffolding', as we called it - before finding my way through it creatively," she admits.

"Once we knew how many crew and the number of cast we’d need and what we could actually shoot in a day, I realised it would be easier to start with a blank page, as there were so many stories already in train that would need re-engineering, and a certain number of characters we’d have to lose. That’s how the time jump came about."

In an inspired demonstration of how Hollyoaks is embracing and owning this change, in the second week of the new pattern storylines jump 12 months into the future, following massive cliffhangers from last week’s explosive stunt that put several characters in potential peril.

Speculation has been rife all summer as to who would survive the time jump and what twists there would be one year on – proof of renewed investment in the show.

To reassure fans, the first post-jump episode (released on 16th September) follows Hollyoaks' longest-serving character, Tony Hutchinson, in an extended, stylised sequence as he walks through the village greeting his neighbours by way of revealing who’s still around, and dropping some intriguing hints about what went on in the missing year.

"One of our writers, James Coleman, pitched a time jump many years ago, so we went back to that idea as a way of moving things on and providing a new starting point. That image of Tony going to every set and you don’t know who’s the behind the door came to me.

"And it had to be Tony, he’s been here since the start and we’re coming up to our 30th anniversary, but there is way more to why he remains integral to Hollyoaks.

"Tony represents the brand, he is relentlessly optimistic no matter what hardships he’s endured. He’s Mr Sunshine with a connection to everyone in the village, an empathy and nurturing that makes him a stable guiding hand for the community and the audience."

The glory days of 30 million tuning in to see Dirty Den deliver divorce papers to Angie in EastEnders back in 1986 are long gone, and not just for soaps – nothing on terrestrial would reach anywhere near that figure these days as there is more choice on what, when and how to watch than ever.

And nailing down exact ‘ratings’ in the traditional sense for streaming views is a mysterious art that’s so different from how it used to be measured as to sometimes be unfathomable. What’s clear is that networks no longer rely solely on the overnight ratings of any programme.

EastEnders, Corrie and Emmerdale remain defiantly popular as one of the last cornerstones of linear viewing, propping up the early evening schedules to tempt an (albeit smaller) audience in and keep hold of them until bedtime.

They are popular on BBC iPlayer and ITVX, with algorithms inviting lapsed soap viewers to dip back in, or directing them to appropriately curated newer content that strengthens channel loyalty.

Even though Hollyoaks has doubled down on a 'less is more' model, Cheers – who has also worked on Corrie and Emmerdale – doesn’t necessarily believe the other soaps will one day have to do the same and reduce their output.

"I absolutely couldn’t call it," she says. "I wouldn’t want to speculate because also it mean they’d go through a really hard time like we have, which I wouldn’t wish on another show.

"Everyone’s got a different theory of when all soaps go on streaming and broadcast television disappears, but maybe it means there’ll be more opportunities for the audience in their daily lives to stream, and therefore they’ll want more of it. Anything is possible.

"My mum won’t budge out of watching Corrie on the sofa at the time it’s on, but if that option isn’t there any more then the audience evolves to new ways of catching up with it.

"I hope Hollyoaks is in a strong position with these changes in terms of being easily accessible and digestible for the fans, and a good access point for new viewers."

With a younger-skewed audience, Hollyoaks also cuts through on social media more than its contemporaries, as demonstrated by the substantial engagement on TikTok with the current sibling sexual abuse storyline involving teenage twins JJ and Frankie Osborne – yet another way soaps continue to stay engaged with and relevant to their audience.

There’s a myriad of other reasons soaps are still important – the career break and exposure they give to actors, writers and directors, the nostalgia and familiarity it perpetuates, the willingness to take risks by being first to tackle controversial subjects before mainstream drama feels brave enough.

Soaps may be acclimatising to a managed decline of traditional ratings, but reports of their demise remain greatly exaggerated. The passion and belief Cheers articulates not just about her own show, but in all soaps, makes for a convincing defence there’s life in the format yet.

"Watching good stories is how we make sense of our lives, take strength from things happening to us and find meaning with our friends and relatives. A good storyline will have an impact, as we’re seeing with Frankie and JJ, as does something like Baby Reindeer dropping that gets everyone talking.

"And what would replace soaps if they weren’t there? Four new Netflix series a year that then disappear, leaving everyone wanting more, but they’ll never have it? We’ll never tire of decent drama, and soap delivers that consistently. And by its very nature, soap is addictive, so you never walk away from it - there will always be questions that need to be answered.

"My deep love of soap comes from growing up with it like a sibling. It’s the most unconditional relationship you will ever have because it will always be there. It’s very simple and meaningful. And everyone’s so nosy about what’s going on in other people’s lives, which is something that will never stop!"

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