Serial drama is a television genre defining a weekly prime timetelevision series that has a continuing plot that enfolds in a serial fashion, episode by episode. Serial dramas typically follow main plot arcs that span entire seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television. Prime time is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ... TV Show Reference Episode is the word usually used to refer to a part of a serial television or radio program. ...
Serial dramas 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 story. 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). ...
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. 24 is a current Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American television series, created by Joel Surnow and Robert Cochran, and produced by Imagine Television. ... Lost is an American drama/ thriller television series that follows the present and past lives of a group of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, somewhere in the South Pacific. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...