Dramatic Hour Long

A generic term for dramatic series that run in a one-hour time slot. Along with the Sit Com and the Reality Show, one of the three primary non-news, non-sports television programming types found on American TV. The term is purely a type descriptor, and conveys no indication of level of humor or high drama on the show, or lack thereof.

Of course, an "hour-long" TV program is usually not really an hour long unless it's on The BBC. More like 40-42 minutes plus commercials.