The Television Genre Book

About this book

Genre is central to understanding the industrial context and visual form of television. This new edition of the key textbook on television genre brings together leading international scholars to provide an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the debates issues and concerns of the field. Structured in eleven sections The Television Genre Book introduces the concept of genre itself and how it has been understood in television studies and then addresses the main televisual genres in turn: drama soap opera comedy news documentary reality television childrens television animation and popular entertainment. This third edition is illustrated throughout with case studies of classic and contemporary programming from each genre ranging from The Simpsons to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and from Monty Pythons Flying Circus to Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. It also features new case studies on contemporary shows including The Only Way Is Essex Homeland Game of Thrones Downton Abbey Planet Earth Greys Anatomy and QVC and new chapters covering topics such as constructed reality travelogues telefantasy stand-up comedy the panel show 24-hour news Netflix and video on demand.