#95 HLYOAKS

But before I go there, I just want to take a moment to give some love to Hollyoaks for truly setting the standard for queer representation in soaps.

Many of you know, I watch both American Daytime, which is the soap landscape for those of y'all in the UK.

And I also watch British soaps.

And I have done so for like, I probably, you know, I'm 47 now, y'all.

I had already started watching soaps by the time I was like seven years old.

So I know it's been 40 years that I've watched soaps in some capacity.

I think I got into it like more regularly.

Maybe I was like 40.

Preteen, maybe I'll say 12, 13, right? But I'm going to give myself 40 years of soap fandom in this piece right now, right? And thinking about the storylines and characters that I gravitated to the most, a lot of times it was stories that were reflective of me, right? And my life and my experiences.

So I remember when I was really young watching soaps, I gravitated to a lot of storylines that are in Black families, right? When I was a little bit younger, of course, like elementary school age, I didn't exactly understand why I was resonating with the Black families on soaps so much, right? Like, I think I'm remembering the Gannon family on One Life to Live, definitely the Winters on Young and the Restless.

I actually started watching Bold and the Beautiful.

Actually, I think I had been watching for a little bit, but I watched Saved by the Bell for years.

There's a black actress on that show named Locke Voorhees, and she went over to Bold and the Beautiful.

And so I was watching a lot of her story, right? And then, of course, on One Life to Live.

Now, this is before I really, it really even started getting into my head that I was gay, right? I was fortunate enough, however, to watch some of the Billy Douglas coming out storyline on One Life to Live live.

Right.

Because I think that aired over a summer when I was out of school at that time.

And that resonated with me as well.

So.

Over the years, I resonated with characters and storylines and families that centered Black people.

I also want to shout out the Wards on General Hospital because that was a fundamental family for me as well.

And then Another World, Diana Ross's daughter in real life was on that show.

And I liked what was going on with her and her cohort as well.

All of this is to say, When I was watching recent episodes of Hollyoaks and I'm talking both the 2025 and the 2026 episodes, I just paused to reflect on how many queer storylines I was watching all playing out at about the same time, right? The standard that we get on soap operas and we have for a long time is of course, In the U.S., back in the day, TV was starting, right? You got little white families everywhere, right? Because we're a racist country.

We're going through civil rights movement, right? Black people trying to, you know, etch out a space of relevance to a community that hated them, right? So initially, there were so many stories that were focused on white families, right? Over time, that changed in the U.S., To the point where we now have Beyond the Gates, which is a predominantly black soap opera, as we did with Generations back in the day, which is beautiful, right? But I think a place we are lacking, definitely in the United States soaps, and even still in UK soaps, is the richness of queer talent and queer storylines ongoing.

But before I go there, I just want to take a moment to give some love to Hollyoaks for truly setting the standard for queer representation in soaps.

Many of you know, I watch both American Daytime, which is the soap landscape for those of y'all in the UK.

And I also watch British soaps.

And I have done so for like, I probably, you know, I'm 47 now, y'all.

I had already started watching soaps by the time I was like seven years old.

So I know it's been 40 years that I've watched soaps in some capacity.

I think I got into it like more regularly.

Maybe I was like 40.

Preteen, maybe I'll say 12, 13, right? But I'm going to give myself 40 years of soap fandom in this piece right now, right? And thinking about the storylines and characters that I gravitated to the most, a lot of times it was stories that were reflective of me, right? And my life and my experiences.

So I remember when I was really young watching soaps, I gravitated to a lot of storylines that are in Black families, right? When I was a little bit younger, of course, like elementary school age, I didn't exactly understand why I was resonating with the Black families on soaps so much, right? Like, I think I'm remembering the Gannon family on One Life to Live, definitely the Winters on Young and the Restless.

I actually started watching Bold and the Beautiful.

Actually, I think I had been watching for a little bit, but I watched Saved by the Bell for years.

There's a black actress on that show named Locke Voorhees, and she went over to Bold and the Beautiful.

And so I was watching a lot of her story, right? And then, of course, on One Life to Live.

Now, this is before I really, it really even started getting into my head that I was gay, right? I was fortunate enough, however, to watch some of the Billy Douglas coming out storyline on One Life to Live live.

Right.

Because I think that aired over a summer when I was out of school at that time.

And that resonated with me as well.

So.

Over the years, I resonated with characters and storylines and families that centered Black people.

I also want to shout out the Wards on General Hospital because that was a fundamental family for me as well.

And then Another World, Diana Ross's daughter in real life was on that show.

And I liked what was going on with her and her cohort as well.

All of this is to say, When I was watching recent episodes of Hollyoaks and I'm talking both the 2025 and the 2026 episodes, I just paused to reflect on how many queer storylines I was watching all playing out at about the same time, right? The standard that we get on soap operas and we have for a long time is of course, In the U.S., back in the day, TV was starting, right? You got little white families everywhere, right? Because we're a racist country.

We're going through civil rights movement, right? Black people trying to, you know, etch out a space of relevance to a community that hated them, right? So initially, there were so many stories that were focused on white families, right? Over time, that changed in the U.S., To the point where we now have Beyond the Gates, which is a predominantly black soap opera, as we did with Generations back in the day, which is beautiful, right? But I think a place we are lacking, definitely in the United States soaps, and even still in UK soaps, is the richness of queer talent and queer storylines ongoing.