''Tainted Dreams'' is a

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

that premiered on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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 Sonia Blangiardo (born April 18, 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, USA) is an American television soap opera director and producer. She is also the creator and director of the web series '' Tainted Dreams'', which debuted on YouTube in December 2013. P ...

, 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 (NA ...

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 Natalia Livingston (born March 26, 1976) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Emily Quartermaine (for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award) and Rebecca Shaw on ABC's ''General Hospital'', and for playing Taylor Walker on the NBC ...

, and Anthony Wilkinson were also nominated for Daytime Emmys in 2017 for their performances.

Cast

* Alicia Minshew as Angelica Caruso * Michael Lowry as Jordan Bradford * Walt Willey as Gregory Ashford * Kelley Menighan Hensley as Veronica Ashford * Terri Ivens as Kassandra Bently * Austin Peck as Max Hillstone *

Grant Aleksander Grant Aleksander (born Grant Aleksander Kunkowski; August 6, 1960) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Phillip Spaulding on the CBS Daytime soap opera ''Guiding Light'', off and on from 1982 until the show's cancellatio ...

as Adam Clark *

as Liza Park *

Ilene Kristen Ilene Kristen (born Ilene Schatz; July 30, 1952) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Delia Ryan in the ABC soap opera ''Ryan's Hope'' (1975–1979, 1982–1983, 1986–1989) and her Emmy-nominated performances as Roxy B ...

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 competes for Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), where he is a two-time OVW National Heavyweight Champion, one-time OVW Television ...

as Dylan Buckwald *

Bobbie Eakes Bobbie Diane Eakes is an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Macy Alexander on ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (1989–2000, 2001, 2002–2003) and for her role as Krystal Carey on ''All My Children'' (2003–2011). Biog ...

as Courtney Parish *

James DePaiva James Paul DePaiva (born October 8, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Max Holden on the ABC soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1987 to 1990, 1991 to 2003, returning briefly in 2007). Early life DePaiva was born ...

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 as Ethan Washington *

Larkin Malloy Thomas Larkin Malloy (September 24, 1954 – September 29, 2016) was an American soap opera actor, voice-over artist and acting teacher. Early life Malloy was born in New York City, the third child of John and Theresa (née Larkin) Malloy, bot ...

as Henry Steinman *

Tonja Walker Tonja Walker is an American actress and singer, who is also a former beauty pageant titleholder who has competed in the Miss USA pageant. She is known for her role as Alex Olanov on ''One Life to Live'' and for her role as Olivia St. John on ''G ...

as Tina Scott *

Lisa Marie Varon Lisa Marie Varon (née Sole; born February 10, 1971) is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness competitor and bodybuilder. She is signed to WWE under a legends contract, under the ring name Victoria. She is also known for her ten ...

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 ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

'', 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 Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels * Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 * Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing compa ...

's ''

The Real Housewives of New Jersey ''The Real Housewives of New Jersey'', abbreviated ''RHONJ'', is an American reality television series that premiered on May 12, 2009, on Bravo. Developed as the fourth installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired fourteen sea ...

'' 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., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

for streaming through its

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...

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 online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

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

External links

* * *

References

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