2. Both show real life: a wild one features animals, plants, etc.; a reality one features people. Both are dramas which involve a continuing story with the same set of characters: a costume drama is usually set in historical context; a soap opera is set in a contemporary, modern context.

3. Both are comedies/ funny: a sketch show has a lot of short comedy pieces; a sitcom is normally a single story and the stories connect in some way from episode to episode although each episode is self-contained.

4. Both are factual programmes: a documentary can be on any factual topic, e.g. scientific, historical, cultural and is made from real footage; a docudrama is often about historical events and includes re-enacted sequences, sequences performed by actors but made to look real.

5. Both involve more than one programme: a series can be factual; in a drama, each episode is usually a different story, but with the same characters; a serial is a single story broken up into different episodes.

6. Both are exciting and often involve danger and facing and solving a problem; thriller can be a combination of genres or types, it can include sci-fi, fantasy, detective, action type content, but it’s always made to create excitement (or “thrills”); a detective series usually focuses only on police work in connection with crime and as a series has the same characters with a different story every episode.

7. Both involve a competition between teams or individuals: a game show can have many formats, including a quiz format; a quiz is limited to question / answer formats.