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A television program (usually television programme outside North America), also called television show, is a segment of content intended for broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.

A television series that is intended to comprise a limited number of episodes is usually called a miniseries or serial. Series without a fixed length are usually divided into seasons or series, yearly or biannual installments of new episodes. While there is no defined length, US industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A one-time broadcast may be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode". A television movie ("made-for-TV movie" or television film), is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful TV movies are later released on DVD.

A program can be either recorded—as on video tape or other various electronic media forms—or considered live television.

Program content[link]

Television programming may be fictional (as in comedies and dramas), or non-fictional (as in documentary, news, and reality television). It may be topical (as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television movies), or historical (as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series). They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.

A drama program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. With the exception of soap operas, many shows especially before the 1980s, remained static without story arcs, the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common television program periods include regular broadcasts (like news), series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or miniseries, which is an extended film, usually with a small predetermined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length. In the UK, the term "miniseries" is only usually used in reference to imported programmes, and such short-run series are usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a title sequence showing opening credits at the bottom lower third of the screen during the beginning, and included closing credits at the end of the show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open", followed by a title sequence and a commercial break. Many serial-type shows begin with a "Previously on..." (such as the series 24) introduction before the new episode. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated, however, as many major television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program have become a significant revenue source as well. Many of the prime-time comedy shows and Saturday morning cartoons were digitally remastered for United States television around mid-May 2008, as there are more original and reissued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or complete series to come. Typically, a DVD of a series or TV movie may contain extended or additional scenes not shown during the broadcast, scenes not allowed for broadcast (due to censorship rule), or additional background information/documentaries.

Television has changed throughout the years, from wholesome family sitcoms and dramas of years ago, to the reality shows of today. When watching television became popular in the mid-20th century, the whole family watched one set together. Also, many channels have deviated from their original programming focus throughout the years because of channel drift.

Most television networks throughout the world are 'commercial', dependent on selling advertising time or acquiring sponsors, broadcasting executives' main concern over their programming is on audience size or eyeballs. Once the number of 'free to air' stations was restricted by the availability of channel frequencies, but cable TV (outside the USA, satellite television) technology has allowed an expansion in the number of channels available to viewers (sometimes at premium rates) in a much more competitive environment.

Genres[link]

Scripted entertainment[link]

• Animated
• Award shows (partially scripted)
• Drama—which includes:
  • Action-adventure or Thriller
  • Comedy-drama
  • Family drama
  • Legal drama
  • Medical drama
  • Police procedural
  • Political drama
  • Science-fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Supernatural drama
  • Serial drama
  • Soap opera
  • Teen drama
• Miniseries and Television movies
• Comedy
  • Mockumentary
  • Satire
  • Sitcom
  • Sketch comedy

Unscripted entertainment[link]

• Game shows
• Reality
• Talk shows

Informational[link]

• Infomercials—paid advertising spots that are up to an hour long
• News programs
• Documentaries
• News magazines—dealing with current affairs

Development[link]

United States[link]

When a person or company decides to create a new series, they develop the show's elements, consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and cast. Then they offer ("pitch") it to the various networks in an attempt to find one interested enough to order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a pilot.

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series must be put together. If the network likes the pilot, they pick up the show to air it the next season (usually Fall). Sometimes they save it for mid-season, or request rewrites and further review (known in the industry as Development hell). Other times, they pass entirely, forcing the show's creator to "shop it around" to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot stage.

If the show is picked up, the network orders a "run" of episodes—usually only 13 episodes at first, though a season typically consists of at least 22 episodes. (The last nine episodes are sometimes called the "back nine"—borrowing the colloquial golf term).

The show hires a stable of writers, who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second episode, etc. When all the writers have been used, episode assignment starts again with the first writer. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they develop story ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who folds them together into a script and rewrites them.

United Kingdom[link]

In contrast to the US model illustrated above, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a maximum of around 13 episodes). The idea for such a programme may be generated "in-house" by one of the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it sometimes is a product of both. For example, the BBC's long-running soap opera EastEnders is wholly a BBC production, whereas its popular drama Life on Mars was developed by Kudos in association with the broadcaster.

However, there are still a significant number of programmes (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but since the creator(s) handle all the writing requirements, there is a run of six or seven episodes per series once approval has been given. Many of the most popular British comedies have been made this way, including Monty Python's Flying Circus (albeit with an exclusive team of six writer-performers), Fawlty Towers, Blackadder and The Office.

Production[link]

The executive producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick the crew and help cast the actors, approve and sometimes write series plots (some even write or direct major episodes). Various other producers help to ensure that the show runs smoothly.

As with filmmaking or other electronic media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three parts. These are:

Pre-production[link]

Pre-production begins when a script is approved. A director is chosen to plan the episode's final look.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times. Sometimes the principal photography of different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (a guest star might shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon). Complex scenes are translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering requirements.

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one episode or show at a time, hence the need for multiple directors.

Principal photography[link]

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew gather at a television studio or on location for filming or videoing a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be planned during pre-production. Depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot in non-sequential order of the story. Conversations may be filmed twice from different camera angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation is filmed from the opposite perspective. To complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant director, and a second unit crew. A director of photography supervises the lighting of each shot to ensure consistency.

Post production[link]

Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate tasks to begin the video editing. Visual and digital video effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas. Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements may be previously recorded). An editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

Budgets and revenues[link]

In the United States, the average broadcast network drama costs $3 million an episode to produce, while cable dramas cost $2 million on average.^[1] The pilot episode may be more expensive than a regular episode. In 2004, Lost's two-hour pilot cost $10–$14 million, in 2008 Fringe's two-hour pilot cost $10 million, and in 2010, Boardwalk Empire was $18 million for the first episode. In 2011, Game of Thrones was $5–$10 million, Pan Am cost an estimated $10 million, while Terra Nova's two-hour pilot was between $10 to $20 million.^[2][3]

Deficit financing is the term used to describe how many scripted network television shows in the Unites States are financed. A studio finances the production cost of a show and a network pays a license fee to the studio for the right to air the show. This license fee does not cover the show's production costs, leading to the deficit. Although the studio does not make its money back in the original airing of the show, it retains ownership of the show. This ownership retention allows the studio to make its money back and earn a profit through syndication and DVD and Blu-ray disc sales. This system places most of the financial risk on the studios, however a show that is a hit in the syndication and home video markets can more than make up for the misses. Although the deficit financing system places minimal financial risk on the networks, they lose out on the future profits of big hits, since they are only licensing the shows.^[4]

Costs are recouped mainly by advertising revenues for broadcast networks and some cable channels, while other cable channels depend on subscription revenues. In general, advertisers, and consequently networks that depend on advertising revenues, are more interested in the number of viewers within the 18–49 age range than the total number of viewers.^[5][6] Advertisers are willing to pay more to advertise on shows successful with young adults because they watch less television and are harder to reach than older adults.^[7] According to Advertising Age, during the 2007–08 season, Grey's Anatomy was able to charge $419,000 per commercial, compared to only $248,000 for a commercial during CSI, despite CSI having almost five million more viewers on average.^[8] Due to its strength in young demos, Friends was able to charge almost three times as much for a commercial as Murder, She Wrote, even though the two series had similar total viewer numbers during the seasons they were on the air together.^[5] Glee and The Office drew fewer total viewers than NCIS during the 2009–10 season, but earned an average of $272,694 and $213,617 respectively, compared to $150,708 for NCIS.^[9]

Distribution[link]

After production, the show is turned over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. If the Nielsen ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the show is usually canceled. The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a series on their own like Seinfeld, The Cosby Show, Corner Gas, and M*A*S*H and end it with a concluding episode, which sometimes is a big series finale.

On rare occasions, a series that has not attracted particularly high ratings and has been canceled can be given a reprieve if DVD sales have been particularly strong. This has happened in the cases of Family Guy in the US and Peep Show in the UK.

If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100 episodes or more) are made, it goes into broadcast syndication (in the USA) where broadcast to the program rights are then resold.

[edit] Seasons/series

The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to country.

North American usage[link]

The term "series", in North American usage, refers to a connected set of television program episodes that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. A new series is often ordered (funded) for just the first 10 to 13 episodes, to gauge the audience interest. If it is "picked up", the season is completed to the regular 20 to 26 episodes. The term "midseason replacement" usually refers to an inexpensive short-run (10–13 episode) show designed to take the place of an original series that failed to garner an audience and has not been picked up. The term "series finale" can lead to confusion outside of North America. A series finale is the last show of the series before the show is no longer produced. (In the UK, it means the end of a season.)

In North America the term "television season" is used inconsistently. A "full season" typically runs from September through May, with a hiatus between December and February. This broadcast programming schedule typically includes 20 to 26 episodes. A full season is sometimes split into two separate units (confusingly also termed seasons) with one before and one after the hiatus. These smaller "seasons" usually contain half the number of episodes (10–13).^{[citation needed]}

Since the 2000s, these shorter seasons have been referred to as ".5" or half seasons, where the run of shows between September and December is labeled "Season N", and the second run between February and May labeled "Season N.5". This is typically done to increase DVD sales of the show.^{[citation needed]} Distributors release the first half of the season in stores just before the second half first airs to increase interest in the season's second half.^{[citation needed]} Examples of this include the 2004 incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, ABC's FlashForward, and ABC Family's Make It or Break It.

UK and Australia usage[link]

In the United Kingdom and other countries, these sets of episodes are referred to as a "series". In Australia, the broadcasting may be different to North American usage, however, the terms "series" and "season" are the same. For example, Battlestar Galactica has an original series as well as a remake, both are considered different series with their own number of individual seasons. It helps to avoid much confusion when talking about a TV Series.

Australian television does not follow "seasons" in the way that US television does. So there is no "Fall Season" or "Fall schedule", for example. For many years popular night time dramas in Australia would run much of the year, and would only go into recess over the summer period (December–February) where ratings are not taken. Therefore popular dramas would usually run February–November each year. This schedule was used in the 1970s for popular dramas including Number 96. Neighbours and other dramas continue this routine as of 2011. Australian situation comedy series usually have seasons of about 13 episodes, and might premiere at any month between February and November.

British shows have tended toward shorter series in recent years. For example, the first series of long-running science fiction show Doctor Who in 1963 featured forty-two 25-minute episodes, which had been reduced gradually to fourteen 25-minute episodes in 1989. The revival of Doctor Who has comprised thirteen 45-minute installments. However, there are some series in the UK that have a larger number of episodes, for example Waterloo Road started with 8–12 episodes but from series three onward, it increased to 20 episodes, and season seven will contain 30 episodes. Recently, American non-cable networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality shows such as Survivor. However, they often air two seasons per year, resulting in roughly the same number of episodes per year as a drama.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., The Twilight Zone) had between 29 and 39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 to the current 44 (and even less on some networks), beginning in the early 21st century.

Japanese usage[link]

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into kūru (クール^?), from the French term cours for course, which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each kūru generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. The number of episodes permitted per season ranges from three to 65. (See also Japanese television programs.)

[edit] Running time

In the United States, in general, dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while sitcoms last 22 (30 with advertisements). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing, with 55–60 minutes per episode, and shorter seasons overall.

See also[link]

• Category:Television schedules (by country and year)
• List of animated television series
• List of television programs by name in alphabetical order
• Lists of television programs
• Network programming (television)
• Radio programming
• Television advertisement

References[link]

External links[link]

• FCC

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Harry Enfield
Harry Enfield at the 2009 BAFTA Television Awards in London
Born	(1961-05-30) 30 May 1961 (age 51) Horsham, West Sussex, England
Medium	Television, Film, Stand up
Nationality	British
Years active	1984–present
Genres	Sketch shows, Character comedy, Satire
Influences	Dick Emery, Ben Elton
Influenced	Kathy Burke, Paul Whitehouse

Henry Richard "Harry" Enfield (born 30 May 1961)^[1] is a BAFTA-winning English comedian, actor, writer and director.

Early life[link]

Born in Horsham, West Sussex, he is the oldest of three children, the son of English television, radio and newspaper journalist and presenter Edward Enfield. He has two sisters, Elizabeth (born 1966) and Lucy Katherine (born 1969). He was educated at the independent Arundale School in Pulborough, Dorset House School, Worth School, Collyer's Sixth Form College (all in West Sussex) and the University of York, where he was a member of Derwent College and read politics. He worked for a while as a milkman.

Career[link]

Enfield first came to public attention when appearing on Channel 4's Saturday Live as several different characters created with Paul Whitehouse. These quickly entered the national consciousness. Among these characters were Stavros, a Greek restaurant owner with fractured English; and Loadsamoney, an obnoxious character who constantly boasted about how much money he earned. Loadsamoney spawned a hit single in 1988 and a sell-out live tour. As a foil to Loadsamoney Enfield and Whitehouse created the Geordie "Bugger-All-Money" and in 1988 Enfield appeared as both characters during the Nelson Mandela Birthday Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium. In time Whitehouse and Enfield became disturbed that Loadsamoney was being seen in a positive light, rather than as a satirical figure, and they had him run over during a Comic Relief Red Nose Day show while leaving the studio after presenting host Lenny Henry with "the biggest cheque of the night"—a physically huge cheque for ten pence.^[2]

In 1989 Enfield realised a personal project, Norbert Smith - a Life, a spoof on British theatrical knights slumming in the film industry. He also provided voices for the British satirical puppet show Spitting Image, and starred as Dirk Gently in the BBC Radio adaptations of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.

TV series[link]

Enfield in 1998

In 1990 Enfield developed his BBC sketch show, Harry Enfield's Television Programme, later called Harry Enfield and Chums, with Whitehouse and Kathy Burke. Eschewing the alternative comedy style prevalent at the time, both versions of the show were indebted to early '70s comedians such as Dick Emery and Morecambe and Wise. Enfield and his co-performers created another group of nationally recognised characters for these shows, such as Stan and Pam Herbert, who use the catchphrase "We are considerably richer than you" (in an exaggerated West-Midlands accent), Tim Nice-But-Dim, The Scousers, Smashie and Nicey, Wayne and Waynetta Slob, Annoying Kid Brother, who grew into Kevin the Teenager, and two old-fashioned BBC presenters, Mr Cholmondley-Warner and Grayson.

In 1991, Enfield played Dermot in the sitcom Men Behaving Badly along with Martin Clunes, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash, originally on Thames Television. Enfield left after the first series, and was replaced in the second series by Neil Morrissey as Tony. Enfield is a professed fan of opera and fronted a Channel 4 documentary series on the subject. In 1991 Harry also starred in the series Gone to the Dogs (TV series) as Little Jim.

After a short break from television Enfield signed a new contract with BSkyB, but produced only one series, Harry Enfield's Brand Spanking New Show. In 2002 Enfield returned to the BBC with Celeb, a new series based on the comic strip of the same title in Private Eye, as the ageing rockstar Gary Bloke.

In 2002 Enfield was the first guest on the revamped version of BBC's Top Gear and also appeared on the show on 23 November 2008. Enfield has also narrated various TV documentaries such as the Discovery Wings channel "Classic British Aircraft".

In 2007, he played Jim Stonem in the Channel 4 series Skins. He reprised this role in the second series in 2008, and the third series in 2009.

He appears often on mainstream television shows. His current comedy series Harry & Paul (originally titled Ruddy Hell! It's Harry & Paul) started in 2008.

Films[link]

In 2000 Enfield appeared in his first leading film role playing Kevin alongside Kathy Burke, who played the character's (male) friend Perry—roles originally created for Enfield's television series—in Kevin & Perry Go Large. The film charted the pair's attempt to become professional DJs by travelling to the nightclubs of Ibiza and pestering their idol, the DJ Eyeball Paul, played by Rhys Ifans, while gaining love and losing their virginity. Enfield also appeared as King George VI in Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004), a satire on Hollywood's tendency to change elements of history. In 2012 he starred with Simon Callow in the film " Acts of Gordfrey" which opened in UK cinemas on 27 January.

Commercials[link]

Enfield appeared in some television commercials before becoming famous, including one made in 1987 for Heineken. Enfield's commercials include a series made in 1996 for Dime Bar. One commercial in this series had Enfield as a yokel refusing a Dime bar—smooth on the outside, crunchy on the inside—because he preferred armadillos—smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside. Later Enfield, with Paul Whitehouse, starred in a series of commercials for Hula Hoops as The Self-Righteous Brothers, characters from Enfield's television show . In 2004 Enfield starred in a series of commercials for Burger King in the United States as Dr. Angus, a character intended to promote the company's newest hamburger. Two more characters from Enfield's TV series, Mr Cholmondley-Warner and Grayson, also appeared in commercials, for Mercury Communications.^[3] Also in 2004 Enfield provided the voice of "The Roaming Gnome" character used in Travelocity's U.S. advertising campaign.

Personal life[link]

For several years, Enfield was in a relationship with Alison Owen, the mother of Alfie and Lily Allen. They lived together for three years and he helped look after the children. They intended to get married but separated in 1995.^[4] He previously dated producer Debbie Vertue (daughter of Beryl Vertue and sister of Sue Vertue).^[5]

In 1997 Enfield married Lucy Lyster and they have one son, Archie Edward (born 1997) and two daughters, Poppy Sophia (born 1999) and Nell Florence (born 2003).

Enfield went to school with Simon Nye, who later wrote Men Behaving Badly.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Harry Enfield at the Internet Movie Database