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<blockquote data-quote="Monzo" data-source="post: 438065" data-attributes="member: 19949">A documentary about B&amp;B&#039;s success in Finland in the 1990s, titled &quot;Soap Fever,&quot; will be released soon. Here you&#039;ll find a report and an interview with the director:[URL unfurl=&quot;true&quot;]https://variety.com/2026/film/global/soap-fever-director-inka-achte-thessaloniki-1236681977/[/URL]The report claims (and I think this simply reflects the director&#039;s statement) that B&amp;B had mindblowing popularity in Finland, but what does that mean? And is it really true? I think B&amp;B always heavily promoted itself by emphasizing how successful the show was abroad, but I find it astonishing when you look at the numbers. At the Monte Carlo TV Festival, B&amp;B was often awarded the title of the most-watched soap opera in the world, and specific figures were even mentioned. However, when B&amp;B had fewer than 20 million viewers worldwide (out of how many billion people on Earth?) and was still being called the most-watched soap opera in the world, it seemed ridiculous, and from then on, no more viewership figures were mentioned. It&#039;s often portrayed as if B&amp;B is particularly popular in Italy. However, roughly 5 to 6 percent of the population watches it (compared to only one to two percent in the US), and while B&amp;B is number one in its time slot in Italy, it could be considered a hit. But even in the US, B&amp;B is still number one in its time slot, yet nobody would call it a hit because US ratings are easily checked domestically, whereas foreign ratings require searching.Regarding B&amp;B in Finland, the director told Variety, &quot;The show arrived during Finland’s worst economic crisis, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people had lost jobs, homes, and hope. That contrast between national despair and glamorous escapism felt cinematically powerful.&quot; I wonder how many Finns agree with this statement and how much of it is just promotional material for the documentary. I&#039;m surprised that, given the many languages for which there&#039;s a B&amp;B Wikipedia entry, there isn&#039;t one in Finnish, considering how successful it supposedly was there.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Monzo, post: 438065, member: 19949"] A documentary about B&B's success in Finland in the 1990s, titled "Soap Fever," will be released soon. Here you'll find a report and an interview with the director: [URL unfurl="true"]https://variety.com/2026/film/global/soap-fever-director-inka-achte-thessaloniki-1236681977/[/URL] The report claims (and I think this simply reflects the director's statement) that B&B had mindblowing popularity in Finland, but what does that mean? And is it really true? I think B&B always heavily promoted itself by emphasizing how successful the show was abroad, but I find it astonishing when you look at the numbers. At the Monte Carlo TV Festival, B&B was often awarded the title of the most-watched soap opera in the world, and specific figures were even mentioned. However, when B&B had fewer than 20 million viewers worldwide (out of how many billion people on Earth?) and was still being called the most-watched soap opera in the world, it seemed ridiculous, and from then on, no more viewership figures were mentioned. It's often portrayed as if B&B is particularly popular in Italy. However, roughly 5 to 6 percent of the population watches it (compared to only one to two percent in the US), and while B&B is number one in its time slot in Italy, it could be considered a hit. But even in the US, B&B is still number one in its time slot, yet nobody would call it a hit because US ratings are easily checked domestically, whereas foreign ratings require searching. Regarding B&B in Finland, the director told Variety, "The show arrived during Finland’s worst economic crisis, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when people had lost jobs, homes, and hope. That contrast between national despair and glamorous escapism felt cinematically powerful." I wonder how many Finns agree with this statement and how much of it is just promotional material for the documentary. I'm surprised that, given the many languages for which there's a B&B Wikipedia entry, there isn't one in Finnish, considering how successful it supposedly was there. [/QUOTE]

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