It was initially based on the Australian soap The Restless Years, however it switched to original scripts during the third season and onwards.

The soap mainly revolves around the lives of the families Alberts, Sanders, De Jong, Van Houten and Bouwhuis.

GTST is also known for having a summer break each year, ending a season sometime in June with a cliffhanger, only to resume three months later in September.

Many former actors who once were part of the cast are now well known in the Netherlands and Europe, including Katja Schuurman, Reinout Oerlemans, Georgina Verbaan, Antonie Kamerling, Erik de Vogel, Caroline De Bruijn, Bartho Braat, Inge Schrama and Melissa Drost.

In 2014, there was a gay marriage in the soap opera; this was the first time this happened in a Dutch TV show.