Sunset Beach is an American television soap opera that aired on NBC from January 6, 1997, to December 31, 1999. The show follows the loves and lives of the people living in the Orange County coastal area named Sunset Beach, on the coast of California. Although there is a real community named Sunset Beach (now part of the city of Huntington Beach), the show's beach scenes were shot in nearby Seal Beach, California. The show was co-produced by NBC and Spelling Television.

Sunset Beach won two Daytime Emmy Awards and was nominated another eleven times. The show also received 22 nominations for various other awards.

Developed as a co-production between its NBC Studios unit and Spelling Television (which formed a standalone daytime production subsidiary specifically for the program), Sunset Beach was ordered to series by NBC in 1996, in an attempt to both rebuild the network's daytime lineup and target younger audiences. Charles Pratt Jr. (who would also serve as an executive consultant), Robert Guza Jr. and Josh Griffith were hired to develop the concept for the new series. Pratt, Guza and Griffith had met in 1988 when the latter two joined series veteran Pratt as writers for the NBC soap opera Santa Barbara; Pratt and Guza first met Spelling in 1992, when the two became part of the original writing staff of Melrose Place, and went on to work on its short-lived spinoff Models Inc.

Sunset Beach was the first (and only) daytime soap opera produced by Aaron Spelling, and NBC's first new serial since the 1991 cancellation of Generations (which was also produced by the network's production division). Spelling had experience in the genre producing several primetime soap operas (most notably Dynasty, Melrose Place and Beverly Hills, 90210), and was also the executive producer of the 1991 film Soapdish, a satirical look at daytime soap operas.

Jonathan Levin, one of the show's consulting producers, commented on the change that a new soap opera brings to the lineup, and the tough process of a viewer getting to know a new soap: "It is very difficult to change the loyalty of the daytime viewer, and we’re talking about shows that have been on for 30 years. That's one of the reasons we’re targeting young viewers — they’re the most available and the most flexible in their viewing habits."

In the process of making the show, Spelling liked the idea of naming it Never Say Goodbye, as suggested by Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone during a dinner with Spelling, but later tests proved that the viewers were more drawn to the title Sunset Beach. The soap opera debuted on January 6, 1997.

When the show began, it had 21 contract actors, including Lesley-Anne Down (Olivia Richards), Sam Behrens (Gregory Richards), Leigh Taylor-Young (Elaine Stevens), Peter Barton (Eddie Connors), Laura Harring (Paula Stevens), Hank Cheyne (Ricardo Torres) and Kathleen Noone (Bette Katzenkazrahi). In its first year and a half on air, seven actors left the show. Adrienne Frantz was the first to be let go from her role of Tiffany Thorne. The character was recast to Jennifer Banko-Stewart, but this was not successful and she was eventually written out. Kelly Hu left the show in June 1997, due to her character not mixing well with the others. By the end of the year, when Meg Bennett took over as a new head writer, Taylor-Young and Harring also left the series, followed by the exit of Nick Stabile, whose character Mark Wolper was written out in a serial killer storyline. Elizabeth Alley had a short stint playing the role of Melinda Fall. The final original character to be written out was Eddie Connors (Barton), who exited in May 1998.

Shortly after the show premiered, Dominique Jennings, V. P. Oliver, and Russell Curry joined the cast as Virginia Harrison, Jimmy Harrison, and Tyus Robinson respectively. Oliver was let go in December 1997, and his character was recast with a younger actor, Jeffery Wood. Both Jennings and Wood were written out by March 1999, exactly two years after the introduction of their characters. The remaining 14 original characters stayed on the show until its end, and three of those characters were recast during the three-year run. The first recast happened soon after the show started airing. The role of Cole Deschanel a male jewel thief, initially played by Ashley Hamilton, was recast to Eddie Cibrian. In mid-1998, Vanessa Dorman vacated the role of Cole's partner Caitlin Deschanel due to a change in storyline direction, and Kam Heskin was cast. The final recast was a temporary one. When Susan Ward left to film a movie, Sydney Penny stepped in to replace her, with Ward later returning to play the character for the show's final few weeks.