Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around the trials and tribulations of a large Irish American family in New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC. A total of 3515 30-minute episodes were broadcast.

Origins

In late 1974, ABC Daytime approached Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer, the head writers of CBS' Love of Life, about creating a new soap opera similar to General Hospital. Labine and Mayer added a large Irish-American family — the Ryans — to what ABC was initially calling City Hospital. Another of the show's working titles was "A Rage to Love," however that was soon changed.