This page is about the television program. For the rock band of the same name see Ryan's Hope (band).
Ryan's Hope is an
American soap opera which 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. The show was also going to be called at first "A Rage to Love", however that was soon changed.