Key Features of Dramas

Soap Dramas
The key features of soap dramas are that they are long-running serials that are concerned with everyday life. Unlike a series, where each episode has a different plot, a soap will carry at least one storyline through to the next episode.They will often have a cliffhanger just before a commercial break to lead a viewer on to the next part, where as a series will have a definite answer at the end.

Youth Dramas
A youth drama will be aimed at teenagers, the story line will consist of story lines that relate to the younger generation and similar scenarios that young people might be in, such as relationships, drugs, pregnancy and friendships. They will target their audience with striking, social issues including a wide variety of character backgrounds.

Crime Dramas
There are two main types of crime drams, one off mini-series (consisting of around 3 episodes) and a long running series. A long running series will have a sub-plot throughout, building up characters relationships. Some crime dramas will focus on police inspectors and police units as a whole.

Fantasy Dramas
Fantasy dramas will consist of magic as a main theme or mystical creatures, many will take place in an imaginary world. These worlds will be filmed on a set therefore costing a lot to produce one episode with more imaginary props and backgrounds. The plots are often based on myths and historical dreams.

Medical Dramas
Medical dramas tend to be set in a hospital they run similarly to a soap where the actors who work there are the same and have build up on relationships and friendships. Each episode their will be new patients and clients, but they don't tend to carry into another episode unless it i s a two part episode. They tend to be quite gory and have high action sequences.