ABSTRACT
Genre derives from the French word meaning ‘type’, and can be defined as the sharing of expectations between audience and programme makers about the classification of a programme. Much television output can be regarded as generic in this sense, and there has been a proliferation of genre-specific channels in recent years, such as Comedy Central, Animal Planet, Syfy, History or Sky Arts. Generic television recognises and uses the expectations of the viewer, for, as the writer David Edgar has observed, genre ‘involves a transfer of power. It is the viewer saying to the producer, I possess key elements of this event before it’s begun . . . If foregrounding the customer is the end, genre is the means’ (Edgar 2000: 75). Genre is in this respect a democratic concept, since it takes account of viewers’ preconceptions, expectations and demands of television. Genre television (such as soap opera, police or hospital drama, or game shows) is attractive to television executives because a popular generic programme has a brand identity. In the same way as casting a known television personality or performer, the recognition of familiar genre conventions provides both security and appeal for the audience.
