melodrama

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
melodrama/ˈmelədrɑːmə/

▶noun

• 1 a sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events.

  ■ behaviour or events resembling melodrama.

• 2 historical a play interspersed with songs and orchestral music accompanying the action.

– derivatives
melodramatist noun,
melodramatize (or melodramatise) verb.

– origin C19: from Fr. mélodrame, from Gk melos ‘music’ + Fr. drame ‘drama’.