Serial (radio and television)
In television and radio programming, a serial has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from traditional episodic television that relies on more stand-alone episodes. Worldwide, the soap opera is the most prominent form of serial dramatic programming.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc, performed in a theatre, or on radio or television. Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever since Aristotle's "Poetics" (c. 335 BC)—the earliest work of dramatic theory.
The term "drama" comes from a Greek word meaning "action" (Classical Greek: , "drama"), which is derived from "I do" (Classical Greek: , "drao"). The two masks associated with drama represent the traditional generic division between comedy and tragedy.