Television series

A TV series is a serially produced, episodic motion picture work. It consists of individual TV episodes, arranged into "seasons" of several months' worth of episodes at a time usually separated by a hiatus. It may also include pilot episodes, made-for-TV movies, mini-series, etc. TV series are frequently spun-off of other series, and as part of a large industrial entertainment production system, are frequently tied in to other products, such as toys, comic books, etc.

The first TV series were broadcast in the 1930s, and from the 1930s through the early 2000s most TV series were broadcast in 4:3 or 16:9 ratio.

For a variety of reasons -- including lower production budgets, shorter production times, narrower screen width, and serial format -- TV productions and TV series have been viewed by the motion picture industry, critics and scholars, and audience alike as the low-end of the motion picture industry, with films (including "art films") at the high end. Critical acclaim for some 1970s TV series -- e.g., "M.A.S.H." and "All in the Family" -- began breaking down this barrier, and the rise of cultural studies as an academic field in the 1980s further broke down the barrier. In the first decade of the 21st century, TV -- now entering its eighth decade -- is viewed by some critics as hotter and more artistically rich than film. The rise of significant new producers -- cable-based networks such as HBO and Showtime less subject to the censorship faced by broadcast TV networks -- has led to treatment of innovative and challenging subject matter and themes more akin to those enjoyed by film producers. In addition, aspects of the form itself have been touted. Episodic production allows artistic experiments for individual episodes. The serial format allows greater exploration of characters, story arcs, and the series' themes. The greater ability to do in-depth worldbuilding also permits significant fanbase and multimedia experiments.