Soap opera sub-genre notes

Scripted reality:
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Target audience: Average age 14-30 male/females.

Similar cast to target audience.
Entirely character based, not many external factors affect the storylines.
Has a sense of realism due to improvisation being used in a lot of
cases, although the storylines are scripted beforehand.
- All characters are similar to one another e.g. Made in Chelsea, all
characters are rich and good looking.
- Themes of friendship, romance, affairs, fallouts and hard decisions.
- Run time: 40 minutes.
Soap/Drama hybrid:
- Target audience: Adults both male/female.
- Themes of drama, thriller and mystery.
- Also includes dark lighting, natural lighting. Typically set in domestic
environments.
- Involves heavy use of gossip.
- Family, love and money based storylines.
- E.g. of soap/drama hybrid 90210.
Social Realism:
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Target audience Working class adults.

Focuses on giving the audience a true indication of what life really is.
Realistic settings
Realistic locations.
Has no end to them, 25 minute run time
Episodes are constantly continuous, never filmed in seasons.
Based on husband and wife/family/gay relationships and also has
frequent murders/deaths.
- Working class locations.
- Typical characters wise old lady, gay male, vulnerable child, troubled
mother, villain

American Fantasy:
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Extreme middle class lifestyle

Extravagant wardrobes and heavy make up
Sets are usually in very wealthy areas.
Themes include money, property and family disputes.
Females are bitchy have cat fights, men are typically fighting over
business issues and glamorous females.
Melodrama:

Target audience: Mature adults both male and female.

Aims to evoke intense feelings
Themes of love, betrayal, suffering, sacrifice and redemption.
Exaggerated use of emotion and drama in both acting and writing.