Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach was co-produced by NBC Studios and Spelling Television, which formed a standalone daytime production subsidiary specifically for the show, and was ordered to series in 1996 to help rebuild NBC's daytime lineup and target younger audiences.

It was the first and only daytime soap opera produced by Aaron Spelling, who had previously worked mainly on primetime soaps like Dynasty, Melrose Place, and Beverly Hills, 90210, and had also executive produced the 1991 satirical film Soapdish about daytime soaps.

Creators Charles Pratt Jr., Robert Guza Jr. and Josh Griffith had all previously worked together as writers on the NBC soap Santa Barbara, and Pratt and Guza first met Aaron Spelling in 1992 while writing for Melrose Place and its spinoff Models Inc.

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone suggested the title 'Never Say Goodbye' for the show during a dinner with Spelling, but audience testing showed viewers responded better to the title 'Sunset Beach'.

Although the show is set in the real community of Sunset Beach (now part of Huntington Beach, California), the beach scenes were actually filmed in nearby Seal Beach, California.

The masked serial killer costume used in the 'Terror Island' storyline closely resembled the killer's costume from the film Scream.

The show frequently parodied other TV programs in fantasy sequences, including the cast dressing as Charlie's Angels, recreating the Friends opening titles, and spoofing Leeza, The Jerry Springer Show, The Wizard of Oz, and Wheel of Fortune.

Talk show host Jerry Springer made a guest appearance playing talk show host Jerry Feller and also a census taker, while Marla Maples played socialite Barbara Birch and Judge Joseph Wapner appeared as himself.

A storyline involving Meg's sister Sara Cummings having an affair with a married politician exposed by a friend was a 'ripped from the headlines' take on the real-life Monica Lewinsky/Linda Tripp scandal.

The tsunami/earthquake storyline proved so popular that two weeks of episodes were compiled into a special hour-long broadcast that aired on NBC's lineup for one night in August 1998.

Sunset Beach gained a cult following in the United Kingdom on Channel 5, where some universities held Sunset Beach-themed parties with students dressing as their favorite characters.

When cancellation was announced, Channel 5 tried to save the show by offering to partially fund it and attempting to involve other networks, similar to what had happened with Baywatch, but NBC declined the offer.

Sunset Beach was the only soap opera ever to air as part of a network's late-night schedule, being rebroadcast same-day on NBC's 'NBC All Night' block starting September 21, 1998.

The show ended with a twist finale in which Meg appeared to wake up in Kansas, realizing the entire three years in Sunset Beach had been a dream, referencing The Wizard of Oz, before waking up again in Sunset Beach in bed with Ben.