Thinking Outside the Box brings together some of the best and most challenging scholarship about TV genres, exploring their genesis, their functions and development, and the interaction of disparate genres. The authors argue that genre is a process rather than a static category and that it signifies much about the people who produce and watch the shows.
In addition to considering traditional genres such as sitcoms, soap operas, and talk shows, the contributors explore new hybrids, including reality programs, teen-oriented science fiction, and quality dramas, and examine how many of these shows have taken on a global reach. Identifying historical continuities and envisioning possible trends, this is the richest and most current study of how television genres form, operate, and change.
Gary R. Edgerton, professor and chair of the communication and theatre arts department at Old Dominion University, is the author or editor of five books, including Television Histories.
Brian Rose teaches at Fordham University and is the editor of TV Genres and author of three books about television and performance.