Q. Is it true that Nick at Nite is going to be airing a soap opera? — Roslyn in Baltimore

A. It sure is. Come summer, the network will offer an 80-episode telenovela-style program, set to air every night.

"Hollywood Heights" is an English-language adaptation of the popular Mexican telenovela "Alcanzar una Estrella" ("Reach for a Star").

The show has quite a daytime pedigree. It is being taped at the old "All My Children" studio. Jill Farren Phelps, who has won multiple Daytime Emmys for her executive producing at "General Hospital," is the show's executive producer.

Brittany Underwood, who glowed as "One Life to Live's" Langston, stars as Loren, an aspiring songwriter and high school student, who makes an intense connection with rock star Eddie ("Days of our Lives'" Cody Longo). Grayson McCouch, last seen on daytime as Dusty on "As the World Turns," has signed to play a surgeon. McCouch, who also starred on "Another World," says: "My character is a player. I am having fun with the role."

With Farren Phelps involved with the production, can James Franco be far behind? Nope. He is set to appear in several episodes as a wild and crazy guy. Not as wild and crazy as his Franco charter on "GH," but still off-kilter.

A single-camera production, the show's head scripter, Josh Griffith, has written for "Young and Restless" and "As the World Turns."

Unlike American soaps operas, telenovelas have a beginning and an end. Many of the shows, which are major hits in Spain, Mexico and Latin America, end a story but retain the same actors to portray different characters.

The first global telenovela was "The Rich Also Cry" in Mexico in 1979, which was exported to Russia, China, the United States and other countries. Currently, the best-known telenovelas come from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela. In Spain, they are also called culebrones ("long snakes") because of the convoluted plots.

Telenovelas tend to fall within these six categories:

Working-class melodrama — which is easy to understand and contains less explicit content. They typically feature a poor woman who falls in love with a rich man whose family spurns her, such as "Maria la del Barrio" (1995).

Historical romance — is set in the past, such as the colonial period ("Martin Garatuza," 1986), the restoration of the Republic ("El Carruaje," 1972), the late 19th century ("El Vuelo del Aguila, 1994") and the revolution ("Bodas de Odio," 1982).

Teen drama — which portrays the lives of high-school teenagers and their issues with sex, drugs and other coming-of-age topics. It started with "Quinceanera" in 1987. "Hollywood Heights" falls into this category.

Mystery/Thriller — is more cold-hearted than the other subgenres. It may portray a mysterious death or disappearance, which may tear couples, even families, apart, such as "Cuna de Lobos" or "La Casa al Final de la Calle."

Romantic comedy — which portrays love stories with some or lots of comedy, such as "Las Tontas No Van al Cielo" and "Yo soy Betty, La Fea."

Pop band story — portrays the lives of aspiring musicians, such as in "Alcanzar una Estrella" (1990) and its sequel, "Alcanzar una Estrella II" (1991), as well as "Rebelde" (2004), which spawned a multiplatinum pop group, RBD.

Telenovelas are not only immensely popular in Hispanic America, Brazil, Spain and Portugal, but also have a wide following in Russia, France, Greece, Italy, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Japan. In the Arab world, telenovelas are incredibly popular with families, stopping their day from midday onward to watch these shows, whose contents often reflect many of the moral and social questions faced in cultures like Morocco, Algeria,and Egypt. The medium has been used repeatedly to transmit sociocultural messages by incorporating them into storylines.

This sounds just like the American soaps at their height.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.