TV show
TV and Radio show
Description
A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed between shows. Television shows are most often scheduled for broadcast well ahead of time and appear on electronic guides or other TV listings, but streaming services often make them available for viewing anytime. The content in a television show can be produced with different methodologies such as taped variety shows emanating from a television studio stage, animation or a variety of film productions ranging from movies to series. Shows not produced on a television studio stage are usually contracted or licensed to be made by appropriate production companies.
Television shows can be viewed live (real time), be recorded on home video, a digital video recorder for later viewing, be viewed on demand via a set-top box, or streamed over the internet.
A television show is also called a television program (British English: programme), especially if it lacks a narrative structure.
In the US and Canada, a television series is usually released in episodes that follow a narrative and are usually divided into seasons. In the UK, a television series is a yearly or semiannual set of new episodes. (In effect, a "series" in the UK is the same as a "season" in the US and Canada.)
A small or one-off collection of episodes may also be called a limited series, TV special or miniseries.
A television film or telefilm is a feature film created for broadcasting on television.
Serial
In television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of the series, and sometimes spinoffs, which distinguishes them from episodic television that relies on more stand-alone episodes. Worldwide, the soap opera is the most prominent form of serial dramatic programming. In the UK the serial began as a direct adaptations of well known literary works, usually consisting of a small number of episodes.
Serials rely on keeping the full nature of the story hidden and revealing elements episode by episode, to encourage spectators to tune in to every episode to follow the plot. Often these shows employ recapping segments at the beginning and cliffhangers at the end of each episode.
The invention of recording devices such as VCRs and DVRs along with the growing popularity of streaming services has made following this type of show easier, which has resulted in increased success and popularity. Prior to the advent of DVRs, television networks shunned serials in prime time as they made broadcast programming reruns more difficult and television producers shunned them because they were tougher to go into broadcast syndication years down the road.
Serials contrast with episodic television, with plots relying on a more independent stand-alone format. Procedural drama television programs are commonly episodic, sometimes including a serial subplot.
Shorter serial programs known as telenovelas (and earlier, radionovelas), originating and often produced in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin America, have become popular worldwide.
Sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new characters in each sketch, and stand-up comedy, where a comedian tells jokes and stories to an audience. Sitcoms originated in radio, but today are found mostly on television as one of its dominant narrative forms.
A situation comedy television program may be recorded in front of a studio audience, depending on the program's production format. The effect of a live studio audience can be imitated or enhanced by the use of a laugh track.
Critics disagree over the utility of the term "sitcom" in classifying shows that have come into existence since the turn of the century. Many contemporary American sitcoms use the single-camera setup and do not feature a laugh track, thus often resembling the dramedy shows of the 1980s and 1990s rather than the traditional sitcom.