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.
Medical drama
A medical drama is a television program or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment and most medical episodes are one hour long and set in a hospital. Most current medical dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the characters' jobs and portray some aspects of their personal lives. A typical medical drama might have a storyline in which two doctors fall in love. Communications theorist Marshall McLuhan, in his on the nature of media, predicted success for this particular genre on TV because the medium "creates an obsession with bodily welfare". Currently, the longest running medical drama in the world is the British series "Casualty", airing since 1986.