TV Dramas are usually a series of fiction-based episodes, which contain these similar conventions:
The story is split in to episodes, which unlike soaps, have and end to them; the narrative isn't endless. Unlike sitcoms [where equilibrium is restored at the end of each episode] the disruption usually takes two or three episodes to resolve. There is a twist or surprise at the end of each episode [in some cases] and the end of the series typically ends in resolution
The episodes revolve around the same main characters, whose lives develop and are challenged as the series progresses. The locations are also the same, often very similar to the locations we see every day [houses, hospitals etc]
Can be divided in to sub genres e.g. crime, family, costume, hospital etc.
