The Bold and the Beautiful is a soap opera.
The Bold and the Beautiful ( often referred to as B&B ) is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS . Since its premiere , the show has become the most-watched soap in the world , with an audience of an estimated 26.2 million viewers . B&B was the last American soap opera to make the transition due to the cancellation of ABC 's One Life to Live before it returned along with All My Children on April 29 , 2013 . It is the youngest airing daytime soap opera in the United States , celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary in March 2012 .