Short American soap opera? (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'soap opera?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'short american' is the wordplay.
'short' becomes 'dram' (both can mean a small alcoholic drink).
'american' becomes 'a' (common abbreviation - e.g. in organisation names).
'dram'+'a'='DRAMA'
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Acting" , "Play; exciting situation" , "Emotional situation" , "Plays as branch of literature" , "Theatrical entertainment" .)