Aprocedural orprocedural drama is a cross-genre type ofliterature,film, ortelevision program which places emphasis on technical detail. Adocumentary film may also be written in a procedural style to heightennarrative. A popular subgenre is thepolice procedural. Some dramas include a lab or high-tech conference room where the main characters meet to work out the problem. Shows usually have an episodic format that does not necessarily require the viewer to have seen previousepisodes. Episodes typically have a self-contained (also referred to as stand-alone) plot that is introduced, developed, and resolved within the same episode.

The procedural format is popular around the world.^[1] In 2011, the director of a TV consultancy said, "The continuing trend is for procedurals because they use a predictable structure."^[1] Due to their stand-alone episodic nature, they are more accessible to new viewers than serials. Self-contained episodes also make it easier for viewers to return to a show if they have missed some episodes.^[2] In general, procedural dramas can usually be re-run with little concern for episode order.^[1] Procedurals are often criticized for beingformulaic.^[3][4] Procedurals are also generally less character-driven thanserialized shows; however, some procedurals have more character emphasis than is typical of the format.^[5][6] Some may occasionally feature a storyline stretching over several episodes (often called astory arc).^[7]

In television, "procedural" specifically refers to a genre of programs in which a problem is introduced, investigated, and solved all within the sameepisode. These shows tend to be hour-long dramas and are often (though not always) police or crime-related.^{[citation needed]} The general formula for a police procedural involves the commission or discovery of a crime at the beginning of the episode, the ensuing investigation, and the arrest or conviction of a perpetrator at the end of the episode. Modern examples of this genre are theLaw & Order,CSI &NCIS franchises.House is an example of a non-crime-related procedural.

• Procedural dramas are generally very popular inbroadcast syndication because the lack of long-termstorylines makes it easier for viewers to tune in for just one episode without feeling lost.
• Procedurals are sometimes noted for their lack ofcharacter development, with little attention being paid to the lives of the recurring characters outside of their jobs.^[8]

• Non-fictionscience procedurals such as thePBSSecrets of the Dead series andCourt TV'sForensic Files take a viewer step-by-step through an investigation, much like a fictional procedural.^[9]

• Police procedural: the best-known variety, a large subgenre ofmystery fiction.Lawrence Treat's 1945 novelV as in Victim is cited as perhaps the first "true" police procedural.^[10]
• Military procedural: a term used byPublishers Weekly in 1989,^[11] referring toRalph Peters' novelRed Army
• War procedural: an example is the filmThe Dam Busters, 1955, which was called a war procedural byRichard Gilliam inAllmovie.^[12]
  • Tom Clancy's novels are sometimes called war procedurals or political procedurals.
• Science procedural:science fiction novels or stories may have sequences of scientific procedure. An example would beTimescape, written by the scientist and authorGregory Benford.
• A relatively recent subgenre is the presidential procedural: a novel which focuses on the office of the US presidency, and the activities of its occupant. Examples would beExecutive Orders byTom Clancy,The President's Plane Is Missing byRobert Serling, andMaximum Vigilance bySteve Pieczenik.

This list provides examples of procedural dramas; it is not exhaustive.

• Crime fiction
• Hard science fiction
• Legal drama
• Murder mystery
• Police procedural
• Serial (literature)
• Serial (radio and television)

• Television genres
• Television terminology
• Works about law enforcement
• Drama
• Literary genres

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• Articles with unsourced statements from May 2015