Line #48 Main/DramaticHalfHour


1	A series or radio program belonging to the {{drama}} genre that lasts about 30 minutes. It originated on radio, with several RadioDrama following the format.
2
3	This format was fairly common in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly for {{Soap Opera}}s and SundayEveningDramaSeries, but has fallen out of use in favor of the DramaticHourLong. In TheSeventies, most soaps in the United States switched to an hour-long format. The format was more common in the United Kingdom, and still is to a degree, probably because that half-hour doesn't get quite as severely whittled down by commercial breaks. This is now becoming something of a dead trope.
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5	Latterly, however, British sitcoms are deliberately trimmed to the 21-minute mark which is standard for North America, with one eye on lucrative American sales. Pre-producing them so American-length commercial breaks can be inserted without the need for obtrusive edits now appears to be standard. For domestic broadcast, this fits in with the Creator/{{BBC}}'s obsessive need to broadcast trailers --effectively internal advertising-- which bite into the half-hour slot as deeply as adverts do in the USA.
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7	The format saw a resurgence happen in the late 2010s (known among TV observers as Peak TV) thanks to the less rigid format allowed by the absence of ads on streaming services and some cable channels.
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9	Contrast {{Sitcom}}, which often last half an hour too but belong to the {{comedy}} genre.
10	----
11	!!Examples:
12
13	[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
14	* ''Series/Adam12''
15	* ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents''
16	* ''Series/AllMyChildren'' (until 1977)
17	* ''Series/AnotherWorld'' (until 1975)
18	* ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns'' (until 1975)
19	* ''The Creator/BarbaraStanwyck Show''
20	* ''Series/{{Barry}}''
21	* ''Series/TheBill'' (some seasons)
22	* ''Series/BlackSaddle''
23	* ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful''
24	* ''Series/{{Californication}}''
25	* ''Series/CaptainPowerAndTheSoldiersOfTheFuture''
26	* ''Series/ColonelMarchOfScotlandYard''
27	* ''Series/CoronationStreet''
28	* ''Series/DangerMan'' (season one only)
29	* ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' (until 1975)
30	* ''Series/{{Decoy}}''
31	* ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'':
32	** ''Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh''
33	** ''Series/DegrassiHigh''
34	** ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''
35	* ''Radio/DimensionX''
36	* ''Series/DixonOfDockGreen''
37	* ''Series/DoctorWho'' (the classic series, with the exception of Season 22 in 1985, where the format was briefly changed to 45 minutes)
38	* ''Series/DrKildare'' (season 5 only)
39	* ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}''
40	* ''Series/{{Eastenders}}''
41	* ''Series/TheEdgeOfNight''
42	* ''Series/{{Emmerdale}}''
43	* ''Series/Flight29Down''
44	* ''Series/ForensicFiles''
45	* ''Series/GeneralHospital'' (until 1976)
46	* ''Series/TheGirlfriendExperience''
47	* ''Series/GuidingLight'' (between 1968 and 1977, when it was extended to 60 minutes; before 1968 each episode was only 15 minutes long)
48	* ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'' (Seasons 1-6. The show went to an hour with season 7)
49	* ''Series/TheGreenHornet''
50	* ''Series/HeroCorp'' (seasons 1 & 2)
51	* ''Series/{{Homecoming}}''
52	* ''Series/HoneyWest''
53	* ''Series/LoveOfLife''
54	* ''Series/{{Loving}}''
55	* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' (The later seasons, when it stopped being a {{sitcom}})
56	* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' (All episodes so far have been between 35 and 38 minutes)
57	* ''Series/Maniac2018'' (though its episodes are often 40-ish minutes long, it is nominally a half-hour show)
58	* ''Series/MrInbetween''
59	* ''Series/OneLifeToLive'' (until 1976)
60	* ''Series/PeterGunn''
61	* ''Series/PortCharles''
62	* ''Series/TheRatPatrol''
63	* ''Series/SearchForTomorrow'' (expanded from 15 minutes in 1968)
64	* ''Series/{{Spynet}}''
65	* ''Series/SorryForYourLoss''
66	* ''Series/{{Sweetbitter}}''
67	* ''Series/TalesOfTheUnexpected''
68	* ''Series/ATeacher''
69	* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone\|1959}}'' (seasons 1, 2, 3, and 5. Season 3 of The Revival)
70	* ''Series/{{Vida}}''
71	* ''Series/WantedDeadOrAlive''
72	* ''Series/TheYoungAndTheRestless'' (until 1980)
73	* ''Series/ZCars''
74	* ''Series/ZombieDetective''
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76	[[AC:Radio]]
77	* ''Radio/TheLoneRanger'' (proving this trope is OlderThanTelevision)
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79	[[AC:Western Animation]]
80	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Undone}}''
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Context Main / DramaticHalfHour