TV Programs by Genre

[Mr. C]

Below is a list of the English TV programs, listed by genre, members of 8-3 & 8-6 watch (according to your previous journals).  Choose a program from a genre and begin writing through the 4 Stages.


Young Adult
Definition: Shows aimed at an intended audience of 8-14.  The Disney Channel & Nickelodeon mainly produce these kids of programs for a young audience.  Shows are often light-hearted, feature pre-teen or teen characters and involve humor in the narrative.

Examples:  "Teen Titans," "Victorious," "iCarley," "Ben 10," "Shake It Up,"Suite Life on Deck," "Jessie," "Wizard of Waverly Place," "Hannah Montana," "Zack & Cody," "Bring It On" 



Drama
Definition:  Typically hour-long episodes, scripted along the lines of traditional drama, can often be serious in tone and involve elements of suspense & action.

Examples:  "House," "Castle," "C.S.I.," "N.C.I.S.," "Supernatural," "Pretty Little Liars," "The Mentalist," "Medium," "Dr. Who," "Prison Break," "The Pacific," "Fringe," "Sherlock Holmes"



Comedy
Definition:  The main purpose is to entertain through humor.  Episodes are often shorter- at 30minutes.  While many programs in various genres use humor from time to time, this genre alone has entertainment through humor as it's main focus.  The intended audience for a comedy show can vary wildly from young to old.

Examples:  "Monk," "2 1/2 Men," "Glee," "Modern Family," "Friends"


Animated
Definition:  Although cartoons are typically associated with children's shows animated programs are now produced for all ages.  Intended audience can vary wildly based on the type of animated program.  Though there are many examples of cartoons for children with "safe" or "good natured" humor, elements of humor in animated shows are becoming increasingly more "adult" utilizing "harsh" humor for a mostly male-in-their-twenties audience.

Examples:  "The Simpsons," "Batman: Animated Series," "Family Guy," "Dragon Ball Z," "American Dad," "The Cleavland Show"



Reality
Definition:  Unscripted events unfold featuring "real people" who are not actors.  No writers are employed by these shows that often have cameras following celebrities as they go about their lives.  As events and scenarios are often contrived or set-up, many question how real these "reality" shows are, reality TV is the fastest growing genre on television all around the world.  Stations which specialize in these shows include E!, NatGeo

Examples:  "Top Gear," "Myth Busters," "America's Got Talent," "Cake Boss," "Man vs. Wild," "Man vs. Food," "Dirty Jobs," "Craft Wars," "AFV," "Master Chef"



Informative
Definition:  Informative TV refers to any program whose main objective is to educate the audience.  Many stations cater to this kind of programing such as CNN, Animal Planet, Discovery & NatGeo.  Evening news broadcasts, on all major networks, are examples of purely informative programming.  Some shows, perhaps those on the lives of wild animals, are quite entertaining and informative.

Examples:  "TVB News," "ATV News" "BBC News," "Piers Morgan Tonight," "Inside Africa," "I Shouldn't Be Alive," "River Monsters," "Meercat Manor," "Shark Week," "Banged Up Abroad"  



Sports
Definition:  A form of Reality TV, sports programming aims to entertain through televising popular sporting events.  Traditionally aimed at a male audience, sports shows now feature female athletes (though less commonly and less profitably).  For those with NOW TV,  NOW Sports has many sports channels.  

Examples:   "Premier League Football," "NBA," "NHL," "MLB," "NFL," "Cricket," "Rugby," "Tennis," "Table-tennis"