With so many shows available to view on numerous networks and streaming platforms, drama series have to hook their audience by finding new and exciting ways to present the genre. Many series have tried some daringly different things and paved the way for fresh and contemporary reinventions.
Other dramatic series stay very much in their lane, bringing to life a tried and true formula and presenting exactly what one could expect from a TV drama. Many of these series manage to be popular as audiences find comfort in the known. However, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and some series thrive in their willingness to reinvent the rules of the genre.
10 Reinvented: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Paves Way For “Big Bad”
Buffy the Vampire Slayer reinvented television drama in many ways. One of the most notable was their inclusion of supernatural elements in primetime teen dramas. By including vampires, monsters, and other ghouls amidst everyday teen issues, Buffy opened a gateway for a myriad of future supernatural teen dramas.
Perhaps most notably, Buffy is responsible for the phrase, “big bad,” used to describe the season-long overarching villain. This phrase became commonplace in television dramas and is still used to this day.
9 Didn’t: Ginny & Georgia Conforms To Small Town, Mother/Daughter Comfort
Ginny & Georgia has many things going for it but creativity isn’t one of them. Like Gilmore Girls before it, the series centers around a young mother and her teenage daughter in a small town. Also, like many series before it, viewers can be sure that forbidden love and adolescent drama is in no short supply.
Even the two title characters have similar personalities to the aforementioned Gilmore Girls. Ginny is a studious, responsible teenager living with her flaky and often irresponsible but lovable mother. However, Ginny & Georgia certainly excels in many ways that other similar series didn’t. Its diverse cast and edgier storylines set it apart from its predecessors and keep audiences coming back for more.
8 Reinvented: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Brings More Than Stunning Lip Syncs
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist was not the first series to take on a musical format. However, it did breathe fresh air into the drama genre with its approach to a surprisingly deep, poignant story. It could be said this series reinvented musical dramas in general with its inventive use of conventions to create something unique.
Instead of the usual characters bursting into song and oddly being ignored, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist uses a twist: the musical numbers are all in Zoey’s head. Because of this, the fun brilliance of the numbers makes for a beautiful backdrop to the story being told, instead of the other way around.
7 Didn’t: Sweet Magnolias Is Sweet Tea And Comfortable Tropes
There’s something to be said for cheesy dialogue and comfortable drama tropes and Sweet Magnolias, based on the book series by the same name, is just that. Even the dialogue seems to be one overused Southern turn of phrase after the other.
It’s almost as if the Magnolias tried to fit in every cliche television drama possible from divorce to cliffhanger car accidents, to teen angst and star-crossed lovers. Sweet Magnolias is not out to reinvent the wheel. In fact, its predictability is part of its sweet, Southern charm.
6 Reinvented: American Horror Story Laid The Foundation For The Anthology Format
In its 10-season run, American Horror Story (often referred to as AHS) has pushed the boundaries of network television and brought on incredibly well-known talent. Love it or hate it, American Horror Story certainly reinvented modern TV dramas, particularly when it comes to formatting.
Using an anthology format, each season of AHS tells a new story while using a rotating cast of actors in fresh, new roles. Many drama series have taken on this format as a way to tell many stories, each wrapping up in one season, instead of one story over a multi-season arc.
5 Didn’t: Bones Is An Everyday Procedure With Lovable Characters
There’s a simple formula to procedural dramas and Bones does not deviate. Each episode wraps up a mystery told via the research of the FBI and the forensic team at the fictional Jeffersonian Institute. While Bones follows the rules of many other procedural series before it, its strength lies in its overarching characters and relationships.
Viewers tuned in episode after episode, not to solve the identity of the latest human remains, but instead to find comfort in the series’ unique, likable, and often relatable characters.
4 Reinvented: This Is Us Brought Multiple Timelines To The Forefront
As far as television dramas are concerned, This Is Us is a top contender for being the most dramatic. Week after week the world tunes in to watch the unfolding of the lives of the Pearson family.
From the very first episode, This is Us shocked viewers with its twists and turns and led the way in stories with interweaving timelines and reveals which are now used in numerous TV dramas. Rich with beautiful, truthful storytelling and characters, This Is Us continues to captivate audiences.
3 Didn’t: 9-1-1 Is A Wild Ride With Nothing New To Say
Like most procedural television, 9-1-1 isn’t reinventing the genre. The idea has been told countless ways in similar series such as Chicago Fire and Stati0n 11. Its twist is that the audience follows not just one but four different first responder units; fire, EMT, police, and dispatch. It’s not enough for reinvention but it does add some extra spice.
9-1-1 is a series full of rich characters but what keeps people-watching is the insanity of the emergencies. Tsunamis, citywide blackouts, and earthquakes seem to happen with such a frequency that it makes it hard to imagine why anyone would stay in Los Angeles.
2 Reinvented: Lost Keeps Audiences Guessing Until The End
Arguably, one of the series that reinvented TV dramas the most, is Lost. Right from the first episode, it left viewers with more questions than answers which would continue throughout the series. It was a cornerstone for water cooler series. Each week found chatter far and wide with theories and explanations.
Lost also brought with it the character flashback where various episodes gave the audience an inside character-specific look through carefully orchestrated flashbacks. Additionally, Lost managed to create an entire universe where traditional TV rules no longer applied, causing the audience to keep guessing until the very last episode.
1 Didn’t: Nine Perfect Strangers Is Its Own Worst Enemy
Nine Perfect Strangers is a wild ride, told with an amazing cast. The problem lies in its intense desire to reinvent the genre. Unfortunately, it tries so hard that it meets itself full circle as a series that has nothing new to bring to the table. NPS is based on a novel by the same name in which a group of strangers meets up at a non-disclosed location for a wellness retreat, run by an obviously unwell leader.
Unfortunately, this is about all NPS has in common with its source material. The characters are almost comically stereotypical and the story, even the big twist, becomes undeniably predictable.
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