student asking question

What is "soap opera"? Can I say "drama" instead?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

A "soap opera" is a program without a specific genre. There will be many storylines so of which will be dramatic (sometimes overly dramatic), some which are funny, sad or romantic. Usually, a soap opera broadcasts an episode every day and goes on for a long period of time, sometimes years. A "drama" is usually a very specific storyline that deals specifically with emotional and dramatic themes. They will usually have a specific number of episodes or seasons. In the clip, he is using the word "soap opera" to emphasize that her complaints have dragged on and are overdramatic. I think you could replace it with the word "drama" but it may lose some of the emphasis.

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