Serials in television and radio are series, often in a weekly prime time slot, that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a serial fashion, episode by episode. Serials typically follow main plot arcs that span entire seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television. Serial can refer to several things: Serial, anything in the form of a series Serial, a format by which a story is told in installments Serials, periodicals and journals, in publishing Serial cable, a type of computer cable Serial communications, computer communication technologies that use a single stream of data... Prime time is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening. ... In literature, a plot is all the events in a story particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular artistic or emotional effect. ... An episode is a part of a dramatic work such as a serial television or radio program. ...

Serials rely on keeping the full nature of the story hidden and revealing elements episode by episode to keep viewers tuning in to learn more. Often these shows employ recapping segments at the beginning and cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Such shows also place a demand on viewers to tune in every episode to continue learning of the unfolding mystery. The invention of DVRs and TiVo have made following these type of shows easier which has resulted in increased success and popularity. Recapping or recaps, involves a summary of a television episode, movie, play, etc. ... A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in which a movie or novel contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a precarious or difficult situation (for instance, hanging from the edge of a cliff). ... Foxtel IQ, a digital video recorder and a satellite cable set-top box. ... TiVo (pronounced tee-voh, IPA: ) is a popular brand of digital video recorder (DVR) in the United States (and coming to Canada in December 7, 2007) and is a consumer video device which allows users to capture television programming to internal hard disk storage for later viewing (time shifting), provides...

With the success of shows like 24 and Lost in American prime time television, several new shows have aired in the 2006 television season in the same genre. In British television, "serial" is also synonymous with the American term "miniseries" - a short-run series with one title and plot. The conclusion of the serial is sometimes, but not necessarily, the end of the program as a whole, as sequel serials will sometimes be made. 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... LOST redirects here. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... British television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ...

Worldwide, the soap opera is a notable derivative of the serial. However, it has come to have such clear paradigms of its own that it is more frequently thought of as a genre unto itself. The first TIME magazine cover devoted to soap operas, dated January 12, 1976. ... For other uses, see Paradigm (disambiguation). ... For the gay mens lifestyle magazine, see Genre (magazine). ...

Terminology

The term "serial" refers to the intrinsic property of a series —namely its order. In literature, the term is used as a noun to refer to a format (within a genre) by which a story is told in contiguous (typically chronological) installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. Succession is the act or process of pooing or of following in order or sequence. ... For other senses of this word, see sequence (disambiguation). ... For the gay mens lifestyle magazine, see Genre (magazine). ... Chronology is the science of locating events in time. ... This article is about the magazine as a published medium. ...

More generally, "serial" is applied in library and information science to materials "in any medium issued under the same title in a succession of discrete parts, usually numbered (or dated) and appearing at regular or irregular intervals with no predetermined conclusion."^[1] Library and information science (LIS) is the study of issues related to libraries and the information fields. ...

The term has been used for a radio or television production with a continuously evolving, unified plot and set of characters, spread over multiple episodes. While American television has introduced some serial elements into their narratives, true, episodically numbered serials are rare in modern US television. They are generally used within episodic series to generate ratings spikes, and are usually limited to two parts. In the US, the most common form of the serial remains the miniseries.

History

With the advent of television and the decline of the movie-going audience, production of serials ceased due to the decreasing audience (and revenues). But the serial lived on, moving instead to the small screen and the world of TV reruns.

The television serial format as we know it today actually originated in radio, in the form of children's adventure shows and daily 15-minute programs known as soap operas (so-called because many of these shows were sponsored by soap companies, such as Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble). Soap operas were specifically engineered to appeal to women (clearly to entice them to buy more soap). They usually ran from Monday through Friday at exactly the same time every day. A show called The Smith Family which ran only one night a week on WENR in Chicago during the early 1930s was credited as the "great-granddaddy of the soap operas" by radio historian Francis Chase, Jr. One of the other shows that helped pioneer the daytime soap opera/serial was The Guiding Light, which debuted on NBC radio in 1937, and is still airing today on CBS Television (where Guiding Light has been since 1952). Some of the characters in soap operas have been portrayed as long-suffering (a common theme even in some of today's serials along with the social and economical issues of the day). Children's adventure serials were more like film serials, with continuing characters involved in exploits with episodes that often ended in a cliffhanger situation. The first TIME magazine cover devoted to soap operas, dated January 12, 1976. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Procter & Gamble Co. ... The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known as the [[. In East Asia, the rise of militarism occurred. ... Guiding Light (known as The Guiding Light prior to 1975, GL) is an American television program credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as being the longest-running soap opera in production and the longest running drama in television history. ... This article is about the television network. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Guiding Light and such other daytime serials such as As the World Turns (premiered in 1956), General Hospital (premiered in 1963), Days of Our Lives (premiered in 1965), One Life to Live (premiered in 1968), All My Children (premiered in 1970), and The Young and the Restless (premiered in 1973) were popular in the Golden and Silver Ages of television and still are today. As the World Turns (ATWT) is the second longest-running American television soap opera (the first being Guiding Light),[1] airing each weekday on CBS. Set in the fictional town of Oakdale, Illinois, the show debuted on Monday, April 2, 1956[2] at 1:30pm EST. Before this show (and... General Hospital is the longest-running daytime soap opera on the American ABC television network, and is also the longest-running soap opera produced in Hollywood (having been taped at the Prospect Avenue ABC Television Center West since its inception). ... Days of our Lives is an American soap opera, which has aired nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965[5] on the NBC network in the United States, and has since been syndicated to many countries around the world. ... One Life to Live (OLTL) is an American soap opera which has been broadcast on the ABC television network since July 15, 1968. ... All My Children (AMC) is a popular American soap opera that has been broadcast Monday through Friday on the ABC TV network since January 5, 1970. ... The Young and the Restless (commonly abbreviated as Y&R) is a popular American television soap opera, first broadcast on CBS Daytime on March 26, 1973. ...

Aside from the social issues, the style and presentation of these shows have changed. Whereas in the 1950s and 1960s the drama was underscored with traditional organ music, and in the 1970s and the 1980s a full orchestra provided the score, the daytime dramas of today use cutting-edged synth-driven music (in a way, music for soaps has come full-circle, from the keyboard to the keyboard).

The nighttime serials are a different story, though the concept is also nothing new. In the 1960s, ABC aired the first real breakthrough nighttime serial, Peyton Place, inspired by the novel and theatrical film of the same name. After its cancellation, the format went somewhat dormant until the mid-1970s when ABC themselves brought it back with, of all things, a comedy soap (aptly called Soap). Although the show was controversial for its time (with a homosexual character among its cast roster), it was (and still is today) a cult classic. Peyton Place was Americas first long-running nighttime soap opera. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ... Soap was a sitcom which ran on the ABC network from 1977 through 1981. ...

The era of "primetime soaps" (as they are often called) really began to reach its peak when CBS began to air Dallas (which re-propelled Larry Hagman to stardom) in 1978. It was with this show that defined the end-of-season cliffhanger (with its "Who Shot J.R.?" and "Bobby in the Shower?" storylines) that is still utilized in many of today's series (whether serials or not). This article is about the broadcast network. ... The Southfork Ranch, home of the Ewing family The original cast of Dallas. ... Larry Hagman (born on September 21, 1931) is a popular American actor who is famous for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony Nelson on the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie. ... For other uses, see Cliffhanger (disambiguation). ...

In the 1980s, there were other nighttime soaps as Dynasty (ABC's answer to Dallas), Knots Landing, The Yellow Rose, and Falcon Crest. There were some serial shows such as Hill Street Blues and St. Elsewhere that did not officially fit into this category, but were nonetheless ratings hits season after season. As the 1990s came to a close, the primetime soap as an official format slowly passed into the sunset, where it largely seems to remain as of the middle of the first decade of the 21st century in the U.S. Dynasty was an American primetime television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 10, 1989. ... Knots Landing was a primetime television soap opera that aired for 14 seasons, from December 27th, 1979 to May 13th, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show initially centered around the lives of four married couples residing in a cul-de... Falcon Crest is an American primetime television soap opera which aired on the CBS network for nine seasons, from December 4, 1981 to May 17, 1990. ... Hill Street Blues was a serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. ... St. ...

However, the primetime serial structure can still be seen today in such contemporary U.S. shows as The West Wing, 24, Alias, Lost and Veronica Mars. Series such as E.R., House and the CSI franchise feature ongoing characters and story arcs, but episodes are more-or-less self-encapsulated and so the series fall into a more conventional drama category. “The West Wing” redirects here. ... 24 (twenty four) is a current U.S. television action/drama series, produced by the Fox Network and syndicated worldwide. ... Alias was an American Spy-fi television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006, spanning five seasons. ... LOST redirects here. ... This article is about the Veronica Mars television series. ... Current cast of ER ER is a popular NBC serial drama primarily set in a teaching hospitals emergency room, the fictional County General Hospital (based loosely off Cook County General, a real hospital) on Division Street in Chicago, Illinois. ... House, also known as House, M.D., is an Emmy and Peabody Award-winning American medical drama, which debuted on the FOX network on November 16, 2004. ... The term CSI franchise is commonly used to describe a number of related American television programs created by Anthony E. Zuiker and originally broadcast on CBS, all of which deal with forensic scientists as they unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths and crimes committed. ...

The term "serial" has become outdated, however, and viewers now speak in terms of these shows making use of "story arcs." In addition, it has been noted that the use of cliffhangers is still prevalent in adventure shows, its just that they are now typically used just before a commercial break and the viewer need only wait a few minutes to see its resolution. In addition, 24 and Alias, as well as other series such as Star Trek: Enterprise have also extensively made use of the traditional end-of-episode cliffhanger format. This often applies to their season finales which often end in a cliffhanger that would only be resolved in the next season's premiere. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... A season finale (British English last in the series) is the final episode of a season of a television program. ...

In British television, the term "serial" is a synonym for "miniseries".^[2] In some cases — such as the costume drama Pride and Prejudice (BBC One, 1995) or the contemporary social drama Our Friends in the North (BBC Two, 1996) — these are stand-alone dramas, and at the conclusion of the last episode, the program itself ends. In other cases, perhaps most famously the original series of Doctor Who (1963–89), the programme is made up of a continuing series of different serials. British television broadcasting has a range of different broadcasters, broadcasting multiple channels over a variety of distribution media. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... A costume drama is a period piece in which elaborate costumes, sets and properties are featured in order to capture the ambience of a particular era. ... This article is about the 1995 TV serial. ... For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 1. ... The opening titles sequence of Our Friends in the North. ... For the BBC radio station, see BBC Radio 2. ... This article is about the television series. ...

Popular serial dramas

• The 4400 (2004-2007)
• 24 (2001-present)
• Alias (2001-2006)
• Angel (1999-2004)
• Babylon 5 (1994-1998)
• Battlestar Galactica (2004-present)
• Brothers & Sisters (2006-present)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
• Charmed (1998-2006)
• Damages (2006-present)
• Deadwood (2004-2006)
• Desperate Housewives (2004-present)
• Dexter (2006-present)
• Grey's Anatomy (2005-present)
• Heroes (2006-present)
• Jericho (2006-2008)
• Lost (2004-present)
• Queer as Folk USA (2000-2005)
• Queer as Folk UK (1999-2000)
• One Tree Hill (2003-present)
• Prison Break (2005-present)
• Rome (2006-2007)
• Roswell (1999-2002)
• Smallville (2001-present)
• Standoff (2006-present)
• The O.C. (2004-2007)
• The L Word (2004-present)
• The Sopranos (1999-2007)
• The West Wing (1999-2006)
• The Wire (2002-2008)
• Twin Peaks (1990-1991)
• Veronica Mars (2004-2007)
• Wildfire (2003-present)

The 4400 is a science fiction television program produced by the USA Network and Sky One. ... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... Alias was an American Spy-fi television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006, spanning five seasons. ... For the South Korean TV series of the same name, see Angel (2007 TV series). ... Babylon 5 is an epic American science fiction television series created, produced, and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. ... This article is about the 2004 television series. ... Brothers & Sisters is an hour-long American TV drama series about a large mature family and the events that befall them. ... For other uses, see Buffy the Vampire Slayer (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Charm. ... Damages is an American legal drama television series. ... Deadwood is an American television drama series that premiered in March 2004 on HBO. The series is a Western set in the 1870s in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. ... Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series, created by Marc Cherry, who also serves as show runner, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. ... For the Hanna-Barbera animated series, see Dexters Laboratory. ... This article is about the television series. ... Heroes is an American science fiction serial drama television series created by Tim Kring, which premiered on NBC on September 25, 2006. ... This article is about the CBS television drama. ... LOST redirects here. ... Queer as Folk is an American and Canadian television series co-production, produced by Showtime and Temple Street Productions which was based on the British series of the same name created by Russell T. Davies. ... Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men let loose in Manchesters gay village around Canal Street. ... One Tree Hill is a teen television drama created by Mark Schwahn that premiered on September 23, 2003 on The WB Television Network. ... This article is about a television series. ... Rome is a historical drama television series co-created by Bruno Heller, John Milius, and William J. MacDonald and primarily written by Heller. ... Roswell is an American science fiction television series created by Jason Katims. ... Smallville is an American television series created by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States. ... Standoff is an American television series. ... The O.C. was an American teen drama television series that originally aired on FOX in the United States , and in Canada On CTV Television Network from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. ... This article is about the TV series. ... This article is about the television series. ... This article is about a TV show. ... For others uses of the term, see The Wire (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television show. ... This article is about the Veronica Mars television series. ... Wildfire is a 60-minute television series that airs on ABC Family. ...

Popular serial comedies

• 30 Rock (2006-present)
• Arrested Development (2003-2006)
• Boy Meets World (1993-2000)
• Chuck (2007-present)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000-present)
• Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005)
• Extras (2005-2007)
• Friends (1994-2004)
• My Name is Earl (2005-present)
• The Office (UK) (2001-2002)
• The Office (US) (2005-present)
• The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (1959-1964)
• Seinfeld (1989-1998)
• Sex and the City (1998-2004)
• Soap (1977-1981)

This article is about the TV series. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Boy Meets World is an American television sitcom that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, who grows up from a young boy to a married man. ... Chuck is an American action-comedy television program created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. ... Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American sitcom starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as himself. ... Everybody Loves Raymond is an American sitcom originally broadcast on CBS from 1996 to 2005. ... Not to be confused with Extra (TV series). ... This article is about the television show. ... My Name Is Earl is an Emmy Award-winning American sitcom created by Greg Garcia. ... The Office is a British television comedy series, created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and first aired in the UK on BBC Two on July 9, 2001. ... The Office is a television show, broadcast by NBC and co-produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille Productions, in association with NBC Universal Television Studio. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Seinfeld (disambiguation). ... This article is about the television series. ... Soap was an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1977 to 1981. ...

References