Texas

Texas: An Oral History of Daytime TV's Answer to Dallas focuses on Procter & Gamble and NBC's 1980 spin-off from Another World. Receiving star billing was the popular Beverlee McKinsey as Iris Bancroft. Having such high hopes for their new soap, NBC boasted to the press that it would be so successful that a move to prime time would be warranted. However, Texas turned out not to be the Dallas of daytime and only lasted two and a half years. Even so, the show built up a core audience that found it to be quirky and fun. And despite its short run, the soap is loved to this day.

This book includes interviews with actors, writers, directors, NBC network executives, etc. Connecting their observations and anecdotes are plot synopses; tales of Procter & Gamble and network input; and how General Hospital helped lead to Texas's downfall. The book is also well-illustrated.

Tom Lisanti is an award-winning author whose books include Ryan's Hope: An Oral History of Daytime's Groundbreaking Soap and ten others about film/television in 1960s/1970s Hollywood.