Definition of "soapy"

The heightened worlds of darkly comedic satire and soapy high-school romance make it easy enough to roll with unrealistic casting choices—and that goes for stage musicals, too, where some level of artifice is built into the format.

2021 September 22, Caroline Siede, “Dear Evan Hansen is a misfire on just about every level”, in AV Club‎

This Diana-obsessed series is the very definition of bad writing. Despite the brilliant cast, it’s a crass, soapy dive into the abyss – not least in the atrocious scenes featuring Ghost Diana[.]

2023 November 16, Lucy Mangan, “The Crown season 6 review – so bad it’s basically an out-of-body experience”, in The Guardian‎