Genre

Genre is a way of categorising particular media texts by overviewing its style and content. Genres have specific stereotypes helping media texts fall into different categories, the audience will identify these categories through the stereotypes allowing them through genre to expect what is coming in a media piece e.g. In romantic comedy's the audience may expect a light hearted love film. Genres vary from horror, thriller, comedy, crime, romance, sci-fi and many more. Genres can also combine which you would call a hybrid genre for example rom-com (romantic comedy)

Genre Theorists
Daniel Chandler Conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content such as themes or settings, and form including structure or style which are shared by the texts which are regarded as belonging to them. Traditionally genres tend to be regarded as fixed forms, but contemporary theory emphasises that both their forms and functions are dynamic. David Buckingham argues that genre is not simply given by the culture: rather it is a constant process of negotiation and change. Rick Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms of media language or certain ideologies and narratives.