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Several attempts have been made to emulate the success of Procter and Gamble's mystery melodrama "The Edge of Night". The first daytime drama to incorporate criminal detection with traditional drama actually occurred before "Edge" ever reached the air. In July 1954, Procter and Gamble launched "The Seeking Heart" on CBS. Despite a rather romantic title, the serial actually centered around Dr. John Adam, a forensic surgeon who worked in tandem with the police department. It was a deliberate attempt to attract male viewers by combining gunplay with traditional romantic intrigue. Airing at 1:15 pm Eastern Time, then considered the "dead zone" of daytime programming, "The Seeking Heart" failed to attract viewers of either gender and was cancelled after a brief five-month run.

After CBS-TV found success with "The Edge of Night" in 1956, NBC tried to get in on the action with an effort entitled "Ben Jerrord". Debuting in April 1963, the serial focused on attorney Ben Jerrord, who ran a law practice in Indian Hill, Rhode Island. The show actually had more in common with Edge's progenitor "Perry Mason". Shortlived, "Ben Jerrord's" single storyline was an extended murder trial involving one of Indian Hill's wealthiest socialites. The serial was also notable for being the very first soap opera in television history to broadcast regularly in color.

Despite the failures of both "The Seeking Heart" and "Ben Jerrord", networks and sponsors continued to experiment with the crime/mystery serial formula. In 1966, Procter and Gamble commissioned veteran author Henry Slesar to create another daytime drama similar to "The Edge of Night". The result was "Cannon", an adventure serial with spies, sprawling crime cartels, and international intrigue as a backdrop. When CBS passed on the idea, "Cannon" never reached fruition, and the series had nothing in common with the primetime mystery series starring William Conrad, which aired several years later.

The final two attempts to launch soaps similar to "Edge" were both made by NBC. The first was "Hidden Faces", which was designed from the beginning as a crime/mystery serial. "Somerset", the second effort, began as a traditional drama but then evolved into a continuing mystery story. To read more detailed accounts of the latter two programs, please click on the links provided below: