''Tainted Dreams'' is a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

that premiered on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

on December 30, 2013 and later moved exclusively to Amazon and Amazon Prime. The series debuted on Popstar! TV and the Popstar! App on September 23, 2019. Created by Sonia Blangiardo, it is a "soap-within-a-soap" which follows the backstage drama of the fictional soap opera ''Painted Dreams''. ''Tainted Dreams'' was nominated for a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series in 2014, and one for Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series in 2017. Kelley Menighan Hensley, Michael Lowry, Natalia Livingston, and Anthony Wilkinson were also nominated for Daytime Emmys in 2017 for their performances.

Cast

Alicia Minshew Alicia Minshew (born May 28, 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Kendall Hart on the daytime drama ''All My Children''. Early life and career Minshew was born in Plantation, Florida. Her mother is of Italian descent. H ...

as Angelica Caruso * Michael Lowry as Jordan Bradford * Walt Willey as Gregory Ashford * Kelley Menighan Hensley as Veronica Ashford *

Terri Ivens Theresa Lynn Ann Evelyn Ivens (born June 23, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Simone Torres in the soap opera ''All My Children'' (2001–2007) and Orchid in the digital series '' The Bay'' (2012–2020 ...

as Kassandra Bently *

Austin Peck Austin Peck (born April 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his work in daytime soap operas. Personal life Peck was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and moved to San Francisco at age eight after his parents divorced. He briefly atten ...

as Max Hillstone * Grant Aleksander as Adam Clark * Natalia Livingston as Liza Park * Ilene Kristen as Vivian Park *

Jessie Godderz Jessie Godderz (born April 23, 1986), also known as Mr. PEC-Tacular, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He currently competes for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he is a former one-time OVW National Heavyweight Champion, one-time ...

as Dylan Buckwald * Bobbie Eakes as Courtney Parish * James DePaiva as Eddy Parish * Marnie Schulenburg as Peyton Adams * Anthony J. Wilkinson as Anthony DiGiacomo * Dina Cantin as Alessandra DiGiacomo * Colleen Zenk as Sofia DiGiacomo *

Nathan Purdee Nathan Purdee (born August 6, 1950 in Tampa, Florida) is an American actor, best known for his roles in popular soap operas. __TOC__ Personal life Purdee's father was an officer in the United States Air Force, and the family moved around many tim ...

as Ethan Washington * Larkin Malloy as Henry Steinman * Tonja Walker as Tina Scott *

Lisa Marie Varon Lisa Marie Varon (née Sole; born February 10, 1971) is an American retired fitness competitor, bodybuilder and professional wrestler best known for her tenure with WWE under the ring name Victoria and her time spent as an Impact Wrestling Kno ...

as Carla Santiago * Carolyn Hinsey as Herself

Production and broadcast

Blangiardo created ''Tainted Dreams'' after the cancellation of the long running daytime soap opera '' One Life to Live'', where she was a producer. She said in 2013, "I was struck by the loss of this unique art form that had been such an integral part of NYC for decades. I wanted to somehow capture my own two decades working behind the scenes of three different NYC-based soaps." First cast were Minshew, Lowry, Willey, Hensley and Schulenburg. In January 2013, Cantin of Bravo's '' The Real Housewives of New Jersey'' was cast as Alessandra DiGiacomo, a role written with her in mind. Later cast additions in 2013 included Peck, Zenk, Aleksander, Livingston, Malloy, Eakes, and DePaiva, Kristen and Walker. The first three episodes of ''Tainted Dreams'' were released on

on December 30, 2013. ''Tainted Dreams'' was licensed to

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

for streaming through its Amazon Prime service starting December 26, 2016. The series debuted on Popstar! TV and the Popstar! App on September 23, 2019.

Reception and awards

Writing for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'', Alina Adams named the series one of the "4 best soap operas on the web" in 2015.

External links

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References

{{US daytime soaps 2010s American drama television series 2013 web series debuts 2010s American LGBT-related drama television series American LGBT-related web series American drama web series Internet soap operas Metafictional television series Television series about show business Television series about television Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows set in New York City