Finally some good news for soap fans as legendary show will carry on

The Bold and The Beautiful has been renewed by CBS (Picture: CBS)

At a troubling time for the continuing drama industry, CBS has offered some positive news by renewing The Bold and The Beautiful for another three seasons.

The Los Angeles based soap opera – a spin-off of The Young and the Restless – began in 1987.

Following the wealthy Forrester family and their fashion house business, plus neighbours the Spencer and Logan clans, the serial has found international success in a number of countries, most notably Australia where it airs daily.

B&B failed to take off in the UK – but the most ardent of viewers can tune in via Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video.

It recently celebrated its 38th anniversary, and the renewal will take it through the 2027-28 television season.

With thanks to streaming, the show averages around 3.2 million views per day.

The show often follows outlandish stories – a far cry from the everyday realism of its British counterparts.

Last year, villainous Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) was brought back from the dead, just months after being murdered.

The show is a spin-off of The Young and the Restless – and aired a crossover episode last year (Picture: CBS via Getty Images) There’s a reason to celebrate, as B&B will celebrate 40 years on air (Picture: CBS via Getty Images)

It soon transpired that the woman killed was actually Janet ‘Sugar’ Webber, another character who underwent plastic surgery in the 00s to look exactly the same as Sheila (and was conveniently also played by Kimberlin).

‘I didn’t see this coming, quite honestly. I’m just very, very happy that he chose to bring me back’ the actress said about the whacky plot.

‘I truly thought I was gone. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me, and I’m just so thankful that that roller coaster is back on the uphill swing.

‘Sheila is my happy place. Getting that call, asking me if I would consider coming back, was one of the best calls I’ve ever received in my life.’

CBS, which still broadcasts The Young and the Restless, have shown faith in the genre in the last year when they ordered their first new soap since 1999.

Beyond the Gates launched in February and is the first to feature a primarily Black cast in 35 years. The network has already revealed that it’s topping the TV ratings.

Episodes average 3.2 million viewers (Picture: CBS via Getty Images) The show is a huge hit worldwide, but failed to take off in the UK (Picture: Flemming/CBS via Getty Images)

The show centres on the African-American Dupree family, a ‘powerful and prestigious multi-generational family that is the very definition of Black royalty.’

UK soap fans have seen a number of cutbacks in the last few years, first sparked when the BBC axed Holby City after 24 years. They then went on to remove another medical drama, Doctors, from schedules last year.

It was announced in March that their only Scottish soap, River City, would conclude in 2026.

At the same time, ITV will cut back from six to five episodes of Coronation Street and Emmerdale next week, amid reports of a ‘budget crisis’.

UK soaps have suffered from axings and cuts in recent years, with Corrie and Emmerdale reducing output next year (Picture: ITV/Michael Adams)

Despite this, statistics have shown that viewership for their flagship shows has skyrocketed in the last year, with thanks to streaming service ITVX.

The platform has reached over 1 billion streams, with 124 million of these made up from viewers of the cobbles and the Dales.

Channel 4’s Hollyoaks followed a similar approach in September, when it removed two of its five weekly episodes and trimmed the drama down to 20 minutes per instalment.

Finally, in a devastating move, Amazon has called time on its Neighbours revival after two years, with the show concluding in December. It recently celebrated 40 years on air, something which seemed unachievable when the axe originally fell in 2022.

If you’ve got a soap or TV story, video or pictures get in touch by emailing us [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.

Join the community by leaving a comment below and stay updated on all things soaps on our homepage.