Tamil television soap opera

Format

Tamil television serials are usually helmed by one director,one written by one screenwriter, thus having a distinct directing style and language, unlike American television series, where often several directors and writers work together. Series are likely to have only one season, with 1–500 or 1-1000 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 100 to 200 episodes, but they also run for only one season.

The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 11:00-15:00 to 17:30-23:00, with episodes on Five to Six consecutive nights:Monday–Friday or Monday–Saturday and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, Sun TV, STAR Vijay, Kalaignar TV, Zee Tamizh, Jaya TV, Raj TV, Polimer TV, Puthuyugam TV, Vendhar TV, Mega TV, Makkal TV, DD Podhigai, Shakthi TV, Vasantham TV, MediaCorp Vasantham, Astro Vaanavil, TV2 and Deepam TV.

The 11:00-15:00 to 17:30-23:00 time slot is usually for daily dramas that run from Monday through Friday or Monday through Saturday. Dramas in these slots are in the telenovella format, rarely running over 500 episodes.

Singapore and Malaysia

The broadcast time for flagship dramas is 22:00 to 23:00, with episodes on Four consecutive nights: Mondays to Thursday, Friday, and weekends. Different dramas appear on each of the nationwide networks, MediaCorp Vasantham, Astro Vaanavil and Astro Vinmeen HD. Series are likely to have one to three season, with 1–80 episodes. Mini series may be longer, with 1 to 16 episodes, they also run for one to three season.

Some popular contemporary dramas include: Vettai, Nijangal, Vettai : Pledged to Hunt, Sundharam Kudumpathinar, Annamalai, Ragasiyam, Vetri and Aaram Arivu.

Contemporary series

Series set in contemporary times usually run for one season, for 100-1000 episodes of 22 minutes. They are often centered on a Family story, with Love ties and relationships being in the focus. Characters are mostly idealised, with Tamil Female protagonists described as women, ethics and social issues in rural areas. The daily dramas are also usually set in contemporary times, describing a family conflict or family relationships, centered on Tamil women, who sacrifice themselves for family happiness.

Some popular contemporary dramas include: Shakthi,Chiti, Anandham, Kalki, Kasalavu Nesam, Metti Oli, Thangam, Thirumathi Selvam, Kolangal, Thendral, Kana Kaanum Kaalangal, Office, Madhurai, Marmadesam and Kadhalikka Neramillai.

Theme music and background music sets the overall tone of the Tamil series. Most Series will start off with one or two and three minutes of opening theme music during the opening credits. Other series will have at the very least a catchy melody in the beginning, displaying the drama's name that lasts a few seconds, and then one to two minutes of ending theme BGM music during the closing credits. Background music is placed and used at strategic points of the episode in order to set the mood of that particular show.

Original soundtracks (OSTs) are made specifically for each series and play an important role in Tamil dramas (mostly in Singapore and Malaysia). They are generally recorded by professional playback singers and tend to enhance the reputation and popularity of dramas. OSTs help to heighten a situation, accentuate a mood, provide relief, or serve as background to an interior monologue.

Production

They are often mass-produced under large production banners, with companies like AVM Productions, Saregama, Radaan Mediaworks, Vikatan Televistas and Balaji Telefilms running different language versions of the same serial on different television networks or channels.

International broadcasts

Tamil TV soap operas are popular overseas in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia. They are also broadcast in other parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. The popularity of Tamil TV soap operas in India, European and the US markets is on the rise. Tamil serial also Dubbed in Malayalam, Telugu language, Sinhalese language, English language and most serial airs with English, Sinhalese and Malay subtitle.

Kerala

In India state of Kerala, Tamil Series are popular and broadcast at prime time, Kolangal and Anandham were aired on Surya TV. Some Tamil Series have also been remade into Malayalam versions such as Parvathi in 2002 which was a remake of the popular Serial Chithi and Nilavilakku a remake of Thirumathi Selvam. Surya TV and Asianet Plus are examples of Malayalam television networks that airs Tamil Series.

Telangana

In India state of Telangana, Tamil Series have gained popularity and the popular Tamil Series, Chithi, Kolangal, Anandham, Selvi, Arasi, Annamalai, Vasantham, Surya, Pasam, Chellamay, Kalyanam and Lakshmi were aired on Gemini TV, RVS TV, Zee Telugu and Vanitha TV. Some Tamil Series have also been remade into Telugu language versions such as Devatha which was a remake of the popular Serial Thirumathi Selvam, Aparanji a remake of Thangam, Sravani Subramanyam a remake of Thendral and Jabilamma a remake of Deivamagal.

Karnataka

Tamil Series have also been remade into Kannada versions such as Rangoli was a remake of the popular Serial Kolangal, Chikamma a remake of Chithi, Bangara a remake of Thangam, Thangaali a remake of Thendral, Mangalya a remake of Metti Oli and Chandra Chakori a remake of Deivamagal. The Udaya TV air Tamil Series remade in the Kannada language.

North India (Maharashtra)

Tamil Series have also been remade into Hindi versions such as choti maa broadcast on Zee TV was a remake of the popular Serial Chithi, Pavitra Rishta broadcast on Zee TV a remake of Thirumathi Selvam, Shubh Vivah broadcast on Sony tv a remake of Metti Oli and Dil Se Diya Vachan broadcast on Zee TV a remake of Idhayam.

In Sri Lanka Tamil Channel airs Tamil Series, and also Dubbed and subtitle in the Sinhalese language. The first Tamil Language Serial to be Dubbed in Sinhalese language was Chithi. Tamil television Series is extremely popular in Sri Lanka, ratings going higher than the traditional List of Tamil Nadu TV series that Sri Lankan watched. Most Tamil Serial airs Tamil Language with Sinhalese subtitle.

Among the most popular series are Chithi, Annamalai, Selvi, Arasi, Kolangal, Anjali, Kalasam, Metti Oli, Lakshmi, Idhayam, Thirumathi Selvam, Thendral and Kana Kaanum Kaalangal.

Singapore & Malaysia

In Singapore and Malaysia Tamil Channel airs Tamil Series and subtitle in the English language. Among the most popular series are Vettai, Nijangal, Ennuyire, Annamalai, Annamalai (season 3), Ragasiyam and Neeya.

Other countries

Tamil Series and television shows are also popular among the Tamil diaspora. Tamil television shows are aired on certain cable television channels in various countries such as the Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, the Middle East, North Africa, Réunion, South Africa, Mauritius, Seychelles, Fiji, Guyana, Burma, Trinidad and Tobago, the French West Indies, Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Running time

An episode of a popular Tamil television drama from the 2010s is usually between 30 and 60 minutes in length (excluding advertisements), which is much longer than a typical episode of an Indian or Western European series.