# Procedural > A TV series in which each episode solves a self-contained case, such as a crime, a patient or a lawsuit, following the professionals who work it, as in Law & Order. Also known as procedural drama ## In practice A procedural is a television series whose episodes each follow a case from start to finish: a crime solved, a patient diagnosed, a trial won or lost. The main characters are professionals, and the drama shows how they do their job, step by step, inside their institution. Because each case begins and ends in one episode, a procedural can be watched in any order, which made it the backbone of network television and syndication. Law & Order, CSI, NCIS and Grey's Anatomy are among the most successful series ever made, and streaming services have kept commissioning them because a familiar format brings viewers back week after week. Most procedurals mix two kinds of story. The case of the week is the A-story, and the characters' lives, rivalries and romances run as serialized B-stories across the season. How much weight each gets decides whether a show feels like a puzzle or a drama. ## A procedural teaser in screenplay form **The case of the week arrives** ``` INT. HARBOR PRECINCT - SQUAD ROOM - MORNING DET. LENA ORTIZ hangs up her coat. Her partner, DET. SAM KWAN, is already holding two coffees and a case file. SAM Body in a shipping container. Container was locked from the inside. LENA Then we start with whoever had the key. ``` In a few lines the scene sets up the case of the week, the puzzle that makes it unusual and the method the detectives will follow. Procedurals often open with the discovery of the crime in a [cold open](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/cold-open), then cut to the team at work. ## Types of procedurals Police procedurals follow detectives and forensic teams: Law & Order, CSI, NCIS. Medical procedurals follow doctors and their patients: ER, House, Grey's Anatomy. Legal procedurals follow lawyers and their cases: The Good Wife, Suits. The format works for any profession with cases. Fire, rescue and emergency dispatch shows such as 9-1-1 and Chicago Fire are procedurals too, as are investigative series about insurance fraud, the military or federal agents. ## Procedural vs. serialized drama A serialized drama tells one story across a whole season, and each episode depends on the last. A procedural closes its main story in every episode, so a new viewer can start anywhere. Most current shows are hybrids. They keep the case of the week but add a season-long mystery or [character arc](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/character-arc). When pitching, it matters which one leads, because networks and streamers schedule and sell the two differently. ## How to write a procedural Design a repeatable engine. Decide how a case reaches your team, how they investigate and how an episode ends. That structure is what lets the show produce many episodes. Make each case test a character. The best cases of the week touch something personal, so the professional story and the personal story meet. Break the episode into acts with a turn at each break: the case, a wrong suspect or diagnosis, a complication, the solution. Network procedurals often use a teaser and four or five acts. In Plot, act breaks and scene notes let you lay out the case and the [B-story](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/b-story) side by side, and a [series bible](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/series-bible) keeps the recurring rules of the world consistent across episodes. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Nov 7, 2026 - [Wikipedia — Procedural drama](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_drama) - [Wikipedia — Police procedural](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_procedural) ## Common questions ### What is a procedural? A procedural is a TV series in which each episode follows a self-contained case, such as a crime or a patient, worked by a team of professionals. ### What is a police procedural? A police procedural follows detectives and forensic investigators as they solve a crime, showing the steps of the investigation, as in Law & Order or CSI. ### What is the difference between a procedural and a serialized show? A procedural resolves its main case in each episode, while a serialized show tells one continuing story across the season. Many shows combine the two. ### What is a case of the week? The case of the week is the self-contained story a procedural opens and closes in one episode, alongside the characters' longer-running storylines. ### Is Grey's Anatomy a procedural? Yes. Grey's Anatomy is a medical procedural with new patients each episode, though its long-running romances give it a strong serialized side as well. ## Related terms - [B-Story](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/b-story): A B-story is a secondary storyline that runs alongside the main plot, the A-story. It often carries the theme through a relationship, and in TV it is the second plot in an episode, after the A-plot. - [Act Break](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/act-break): The turn that ends an act — a cliffhanger or reversal in TV, a major structural shift in features — that re-aims the story’s pressure. - [Cold Open](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/cold-open): The opening scene of a TV episode or film that plays before the titles or opening credits, to hook the audience at once. In TV scripts it is labeled COLD OPEN or TEASER and comes before ACT ONE. - [Bottle Episode](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/bottle-episode): A TV episode deliberately constrained in locations and cast — often to save budget — that turns limitation into pressure: one room, one night, nowhere to escape the conflict. --- Canonical page: