Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction. Also known as "chapter plays", they were extended motion pictures broken into a number of segments called "chapters" or "episodes". Each chapter would be screened at the same theater for one week. The serial would end with a cliffhanger in which the hero and heroine would find themselves in a perilous situation from which there apparently could be no escape. Viewers would have to return in subsequent weeks to see the cliffhangers resolved and to follow the continuing story.

Serials were especially popular with children, and for many youths in the first half of the 20th century a typical Saturday at the movies included a chapter of at least one serial, along with animated cartoons, newsreels, and two feature films.

Many serials were Westerns, since those were the least expensive to film. Besides Westerns, though, there were films covering many genres, including crime fiction, espionage, comic book or comic strip characters, science fiction, and jungle adventures. Although most serials were filmed economically, some were made at significant expense. The Flash Gordon serial and its sequels, for instance, were major productions in their times.

Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (Ukrainian: Андрі́й Рома́нович Чикати́ло; 16 October 1936 – 14 February 1994) was a Soviet serial killer, nicknamed The Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper and The Rostov Ripper who committed the murder of a minimum of 52 women and children between between 1978 and 1990 in the Russian SFSR. Chikatilo confessed to a total of 56 murders and was tried for 53 of these killings in April, 1992. He was convicted and sentenced to death for 52 of these murders in October 1992 and subsequently executed in February 1994.

Chikatilo was known by such titles as The Rostov Ripper and The Butcher of Rostov because the majority of his murders were committed in the Rostov Oblast of the Russian SFSR.

Andrei Chikatilo was born in the village of Yablochnoye (Yabluchne) in modern Sumy Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR. He was born soon after the famine in Ukraine caused by Joseph Stalin's forced collectivisation of agriculture. Ukrainian farmers were forced to hand in their entire crop for statewide distribution. Mass starvation ran rampant throughout Ukraine and reports of cannibalism soared. Chikatilo's mother, Anna, told him that his older brother Stepan had been kidnapped and cannibalized by starving neighbors, although it has never been independently established whether this actually happened.

T N Seetharam or Gouribidanur Seetharam is a prominent Kannada film and TV serial director, actor and writer. He has become a cultural icon in Karnataka, India, through his work in several art mediums. Mr. Seetharam has written, directed, and produced plays, movies, and top-rated television series which have attracted millions of viewers.

T.N. Seetharam was associated with the famous director Puttana Kanagal and had written scripts for his movies. He also has made appearances as an actor in movies.

He was noticed when he started directing TV serials for Doordarshan. Fame and recognition came when he directed Mayamruga, a daily Kannada serial which stood apart for its take on reality. Mayamruga has seen a DVD avatar, which probably is the first for a Kannada serial. He then went on to direct Kamanabillu which was the first serial on a satellite TV to be widely watched. The most successful phase for him has been his association with ETV Kannada which resulted in famous serials like Manvantara and Muktha. He has acted in most of his serials and he likes to play the character of a lawyer who comes to the rescue of the oppressed. Mr Seetharam is strong in his scripts which makes him quickly change the course of a serial and deliver what the audience demand. Usually the ratings soar when he makes an appearance. The court scenes are elaborate and goes on for weeks together and yet the audience ask for more. That's the power and charm of Seetharam. He developed a concept of Samvada, an organised meeting with the audience of his serials throughout the length and breadth of Karnataka. These became so popular that ETV Kannada telecast these interactions which had an equal ratings as that of the serial.