This chapter presents a definition of the basic historical genres analyzed in the book and outlines how they build on and interact with memory. The main genres are historical documentaries, docudramas, historical biopics and period dramas, each of which have important sub-genres. Based on these genre definitions, the chapter gives a structural overview of how the history of the twentieth century has been mediated in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland), Southern Europe (Spain, Italy), Western (France, Belgium) and Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden). A main point illustrated here is the universal dimension of historical genres across national variation and diversity. This more transnational European context is finally used to frame the deeper analytical study of historical television genres in the two selected main countries: Germany and Great Britain.