"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. S ... tructured 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, children's 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 Python's 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, Grey's 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." (Publisher description) more

"From Facebook to the iPhone, from YouTube to Wikipedia, from Grand Auto Theft to Second Life, this book explores media's important issues and debates. It covers topics such as digital television, digital cinema, game culture, digital democracy, the World Wide Web, digital news, online social networ ... king, music & multimedia and virtual communities." (Publisher description) more