Happy anniversary to Santa Barbara!
The soap premiered 35 years ago today on July 30, 1984, and ran until January 15, 1993. Created by Bridget and Jerome Dobson in the hopes of bringing in a new generation of soap viewers. Santa Barbara centered around the Capwell, Lockridge, Perkins and Andrade families and made a huge splash in its short time on-air as they delved into the lives of characters within different social classes. In the beginning, the plot revolved around the murder of Channing Capwell, Jr, and this initial storyline would affect many character’s lives over the entire course of the show.
One of the major draws to the show besides its beautiful location were its supercouples Mason (Lane Davies) and Julia (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Eden (Marcy Walker) and Cruz (A Martinez). The latter whose story was an important one. The show tackled the issues that could stem from an interracial coupling living in a different class of life. The audience got to see their struggles and how they overcame them. Between their interesting storylines and the dynamic chemistry between the actors who portrayed them it’s easy to see why Eden and Cruz are one of the most recognizable soap opera couples.
The soap also had many actors in the spotlight that many soap fans would know. Names like A Martinez, Marcy Walker, Louise Sorel, Jed Allen, Justin Deas, Nancy Lee Grahn, and arguably their most famous alum Robin Wright!
It was certainly captivating and garnered an impressive amount of awards throughout it’s run. The show was nominated for 73 Daytime Emmy awards and won 24 of them, including three wins for Outstanding Drama Series and lead actor and actress wins for A Martinez and Marcy Walker. The show also earned 18 Soap Opera Digest Awards and two Writer’s Guild Awards in 1991 and 1992.
Santa Barbara has been off the air for 26 years, but that hasn’t stopped it from still having a large dedicated fanbase! In fact, some of the cast are reuniting later this year to enjoy a cruise in the Bahamas with their fans! If you are interested you can check that out here: Santa Barbara Reunion Cruise
The soap was an amazing show and I need to know what we have to do to get the episodes streaming online!!
Tori
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