Teleology brings together John Hartley's work on television. The book draws on current critical theory in cultural studies to develop a wide-ranging and thought-provoking view of television broadcasting in Britain, Australia and the USA.

Neighbours, Hancock's Half Hour, Dallas, Monty Python, Miami Vice, Beverly Hillbillies and Bonanza are among the examples of TV art that are discussed in Hartley's exploration of cultural politics. He takes in TV truth and propaganda; populism in the news; mythologies of the audience; TV drama as a `photopoetic' genre in the tradition of Shakespeare; Kylie Minogue, Madonna and gardening shows.