A horse opera, hoss opera, oat opera or oater is a

Western movie The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

that is clichéd or formulaic, in the manner of a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

. The term, which was originally coined by silent film-era Western star William S. Hart, is used variously to convey either disparagement or affection. The name "horse opera" was also derived in part from the musical sequences frequently featured in these films and TV series, which depicted a cowboy singing to his horse on-screen. The term "horse opera" is quite loosely defined; it does not specify a distinct sub-genre of the Western (as "

space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...

" does with regard to the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

genre).

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* Film and video terminology Western (genre) staples and terminology {{tv-term-stub