#10: Falling Ratings Forced Budget Cuts Across Prime-Time Soaps
By the late 1980s, ratings for U.S. prime-time soaps were slipping — but production costs kept climbing. Even massive hits like Knots Landing weren’t immune. Lorimar-Telepictures Productions was forced to tighten budgets across its biggest shows.
That meant cuts for Dallas, Knots Landing, and Falcon Crest alike. Fewer big moments, tighter production choices, and more careful spending became the new normal. It marked the beginning of the end for the lavish soap era, as TV audiences slowly moved on from the genre that once dominated prime time.