Page 223 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

CHAPTER 8

notable outcome: the cyclical nature of genres. TV Westerns provide a
good example. Prior to 1956, no Western had ever appeared among the
top fifteen rated television shows. But in 1956, Gunsmoke broke into the
top ten rated programs, at number eight. By 1958, Westerns held nine
of the fifteen slots (including the top four programs). However, by the
1962 season the popularity of the Western was on the decline; only one
Western (Gunsmoke) remained on the top ten list. And with the cancel-
lation of Gunsmoke in 1975, Westerns dropped out of the Nielsen’s top
ten chart entirely.
In the ebb and flow of this cycle, as one genre becomes popular, another
typically goes into decline. For instance, at the same time that the reality
genre was beginning to hit its saturation peak, situation comedies were
on the wane. In the lineup for 2004–5, only thirteen of the thirty-five
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new series were situation comedies. The evolution of genres generally
follows the following cycle.
1. Inception Stage. In the initial stage, a genre that has been long dor-
mant suddenly emerges on the media landscape. For instance, in 1999
ABC introduced a quiz show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, with host
Regis Philbin. The show immediately took off, averaging 29 million
viewers per night in its initial season.
2. Popularization. This stage occurs as media outlets move quickly
to exploit the initial success of a genre. As the president of Fox Enter-
tainment Group, Sandy Grushow, explains, the audience “has a huge
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appetite, and we’ve got a responsibility to satisfy that appetite.” In this
spirit, ABC took advantage of the initial popularity of Who Wants to Be
a Millionaire by scheduling the program four evenings a week. Other
networks were quick to build on the sudden popularity of the game show
genre. Consequently, while Millionaire was the only prime time network
game show in 1999, one year later game shows appeared for eight hours
each week on network television.
This same pattern can also be found in the reality genre. In 2000,
Big Brother was the first reality show to hit the U.S. airwaves. By 2003,
reality shows dominated the airwaves:

• During the week of February 17, 2003, seven reality shows were
among the thirteen-highest rated shows. Forty million people
watched Joe Millionaire (Fox).
• Reality programs won fifteen of eighteen half-hour time periods on
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, and finished second in the

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