The youngest person to create a prime-time drama has a special way of describing his show. When you’re making broadcast history, you’re entitled to create words.

“It’s a ‘soapedy,’ ” says Josh Schwartz, 27, in explaining the mixture of soap opera and comedy propelling Fox’s “The O.C.”

“We owe as much to melodrama as to comedy and romantic comedy,” he says. “We’re fusing a lot of genres. I never watched soaps or ‘Beverly Hills, 90210.’ I missed the ‘Dallas’- ‘Dynasty’ movement. The show is as much a soap as it is a romantic comedy as it is a family show.”

Above all, it’s a hit. In a season when few new dramas and comedies have intrigued the public, “The O.C.” has broken through with its attractive actors, conflicted characters and swank settings. The rich families of Orange County, Calif., are different from you and me–and we like it that way.

Scheduled at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, after the phenomenon “American Idol,” “The O.C.” is on the brink of wide popularity.

Marcy Ross, Fox’s senior vice president of current programming, attributes the success to Schwartz’s clear vision for the show.

“He never wavers from it,” she says. “He’s funny. That’s why the show has captured the imagination of so many young people. It has all of the wonderful nail-biting soap qualities with some real self-awareness.”

“The O.C.” can vary in tone from week to week, keeping fans surprised. One week, it pokes fun at itself by focusing on “The Valley,” a teen drama within the teen drama. The next week, “The O.C.” turns dramatic by bringing on a visiting grandmother (played by “Alice” star Linda Lavin) in grave health.

“You can take it on a realistic level and on an ironic level,” says Ron Simon, television curator at the Museum of Television & Radio in New York. “It’s commenting on its own narrative. That’s smart television for kids who grew up with ‘Beverly Hills, 90210.’ It’s the perfect drama for viewers who want to discuss all the intricacies and emotional upheaval on the Internet.”

For “The O.C.’s” May 5 cliffhanger, Schwartz and his colleagues are planning a big, old-fashioned season finale that hooks fans until the series returns, probably after baseball in October.

“We want to keep the show self-aware and funny and frisky enough, but I don’t want it to be so self-aware that you can’t do emotional stories as well,” Schwartz says. “The last episodes are real emotional.”

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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)