The BBC flagship continuing drama EastEnders (1985-) is widely accepted as an exemplar of the ‘entertainment-education’ approach, embodying a strong public service ideology and rooted in Reithian values. In this paper, I explore the definitional role of the programme in addressing environmental issues in the digital age and argue that this is a novel opportunity to examine the limits and possibilities

The emergence of free ad-supported television (FAST) services has been growing in the streaming television market. In contrast with subscription video on demand (SVOD) services, FAST rely on library programming to draw in viewers. Functionally, this is an evolution of the linear television practice of syndication and remediates existing, successful television practices. Culturally, it serves to preserve

This article argues that in order to adequately understand what motivates viewers’ desire to become viscerally uneasy when watching the subgenre of cringe comedy, one must enlist the help of the later Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, whose work underscores a drive toward self-sabotage that exists beyond the pleasure principle. It demonstrates the fruits of this interpretive approach with a close reading

In 2017, Netflix announced that it had entered into an exclusive multi-year development deal with award-winning American producer and writer Shonda Rhimes. Under this deal, all of Rhimes’s future productions (made under her company Shondaland) would be Netflix Originals. This article examines Bridgerton and Queen Charlotte to consider how the traditional period drama has been transformed, in this case

Previous studies of EastEnders (1985-present) have focused on important feminist and queer scholarship or topics including class and ethnicity. Likewise, previous quantitative and qualitative analyses of the programme have been largely skewed towards female spectatorship. The significant male viewing demographic within audience research has been comparatively underrepresented. Taking an autoethnographic

While soap operas typically focus their storylines on human characters, animals serve significant roles in them too. Focussing on the most common animal in the series – dogs – this analysis examines the functions animals play in EastEnders (1985-present), foregrounding species-based hierarchies and popular culture’s normalised anthropocentrism. The focus here is on how pets function as symbols of the

This provocation details varied perspectives of the International Women’s Broadcasting Histories (IWBH) network on researching the role of women in broadcasting. The conversational form allows us to roam across the topic widely, to express a range of discrete positions and distinct arguments, with the desire to bring dilemmas to the surface and explore their implications without reduction. Responding

The deaths of long-running, elderly characters offer up a chance to consider the ebb and flow and circular nature of soap narratives. This article uses the deaths of three of EastEnders ’s matriarchs to think about the soap opera’s use of aesthetics and space, alongside its layering of memory. Pat Butcher, Peggy Mitchell and Dot Cotton’s deaths – two on screen and one off – saw the programme intensify

This article focuses on EastEnders ’ fan responses to the storyline known as ‘The Six’, which began with a flash-forward in an episode aired in February 2023 and involves six female characters faced with a dead body in the local pub, The Queen Vic. It argues that ‘The Six’ can be read as a form of ‘event television’ which highlights the show’s attempts to innovate within the soap genre, to set up a

The Play for Today Viewing Group, consisting of academics from the United Kingdom and Ireland who meet virtually multiple times per year to discuss a teleplay, collectively analyse two Play s for Today , The Bevellers (1974) and Not for the Likes of Us (1980). These plays reflect Play for Today ’s historical tendency towards a greater inclusion of female workers alongside emergent forms and patterns

The multifaceted change in series production and distribution since the turn of the century has diversified industrial structures and, correspondingly, expanded the scope of commercially viable storytelling. This expansion has introduced variation that has made it difficult to make claims of television series to the extent once possible. This article identifies ‘modes of industrial practice’ as a heuristic

This article examines Prime Video’s original comedy content in Mexico through aesthetic and industrial analysis, and identifies, describes and explains non-disruptive streaming television programming, a category of streaming television content that represents a clear sense of continuity with legacy television. This study highlights the relevance of Mexican actor and producer Eugenio Derbez and his

This article is an English-language translation of ‘De la paléo- à la néo-télévision’ by Francesco Casetti and Roger Odin (1990), originally published in French. The article highlights transformations in the transition from paleo- to neo-television in France and Italy at the time when private television proliferated in Europe. From a semio-pragmatic perspective, it seeks to understand how the change

This article provides a critical analysis of the Olivia/Fitz relationship in Scandal, exploring their interactions and the program’s treatment of sexual and relational abuse in the context of the popular feminism in U.S. television. Scandal follows Olivia Pope, a political fixer who solves problems for D.C. elites while navigating a tumultuous personal life including an on-again/off-again affair with

The article explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the production and narrative strategies of the 90 Day Fiancé franchise, focusing on its spin-off, 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined (2020). It examines how the programme adapted to mobility restrictions and lockdown policies through self-filming, remote interviewing, and focusing on mundane, pandemic-specific activities. Using theories of reality

As viewing shifts from broadcast to streaming, what should be the role for TV studies? Arguing for the need to account for the multi-faceted nature of contemporary television, this provocation proposes an agenda for the future of TV studies. It argues that the technological consequences of shifting to internet-delivered television demand new theorisations of television as software, new digital tools

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in past television programmes and television memory more broadly, a trend amplified by streaming platforms. This development highlights the critical issue of television archiving and content accessibility. As Brazilian television approaches its 75th anniversary in 2025, this article examines the current state of television archives in Brazil, their

This article draws on data from 18 semi-structured interviews with women which explore their relations with true crime television. Complicating popular and academic arguments that such relations operate pedagogically (that true crime offers a form of ‘safety advice’ for women), the data attests to the participants’ reflexive negotiation of ethics as a frame through which viewing investments are presented

One of Cartoon Network’s most successful shows ever, Rick and Morty (2013–present) has established a cult following for its blend of dark humour and existential themes. However, the show is more than just a representation of popular nihilism; through its sustained engagement with nihilistic themes, it also demonstrates how nihilism can be embraced, exhausted, and potentially eventually surpassed in

This paper examines the representation of trauma recovery in the television series I May Destroy You ( 2020 ). Research on rape in fictional television programmes overwhelmingly focus on rape myths or how rape is represented. There is scant research on recovery from rape trauma in television drama. This paper contributes to scholarship on rape in fictional television, through a focus on the process

Using Netflix as a lens, this article identifies and unpacks three central interrelated myths – binge-watching, on-demand, and big data – surrounding global video-on-demand services. These myths are problematic because they make certain ideas about these services seem natural and self-evident, restricting our understanding of their role in culture and society. Moreover, these services provide little

This article presents a qualitative interview study of Finnish screenwriters and commissioners about the impact of generative artificial intelligence on the profession of screenwriting. We ask how screenwriters and commissioners see the benefits and risks of AI tools in screenwriting and how screenwriters see their changing profession in the future. We identify three stances towards AI-driven work

Since the late 2010s, there has been a surge in gay teen drama series that portray their gay male protagonists as cute. This article focuses on four series ( Heartstopper, Young Royals, Love, Victor, and wtFOCK) and examines which formal and narrative practices are used to convey cuteness. It argues that, first, each series participates in the creation of the cute gay boy archetype; second, each series

Thanksgiving-themed episodes of cooking television open up questions about the interrelations of food, history, power, and culture. This study addresses such questions through textual and thematic analysis of 46 Thanksgiving-themed episodes of reality cooking competition programmes on US cable TV, exploring how the Thanksgiving episode operates as a site for the deployment of the culinary as a category

This article focuses on the five-part miniseries, Chernobyl (2019), with its contaminated landscape that deals with a troubled, traumatic history. It takes inspiration from the work of Walter Benjamin and his concept of historical materialism, but principally draws on theoretical paradigms dealing with transcultural memory, to advance a discussion on memory work, (re)mediation of historical events

This article is based on a three-year-long content analysis of the use of reality TV content on the front pages of four popular video streaming services in Denmark: DRTV, TV 2 Play, Viaplay, and Netflix. The results give rare insights into front pages that are normally hidden behind logins but also longitudinal perspectives about the services’ changing curation practices. In particular, the two institutions

Netflix has commissioned and released an increasing number of high-end international series that tap into the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror. These follow one of two strategies: (1) local productions that engage with local folklore and myths, or (2) productions centred in the ‘West’, where international talent is brought in to create cosmopolitan ‘global’ TV events such as 1899 (2022)

SKAM (2015–2017) and its Flemish adaptation wtFOCK (2018–2021) use several digital platforms to provide viewers with content, enabling different types of audience engagement. By means of a social media analysis, this study investigates how producers utilise transmedia tools to enhance viewers’ involvement with the depicted storyline and how viewers interact with the provided content on LGBTQ issues

This article explores both US and European streaming shows that feature a protagonist in scenes of queer youth sex, focusing on how the show treats and frames these scenes as constitutive of a broader representational narrative of queer youth sex(uality). By comparing US and European shows, I argue that queer pleasure supplants panic featured in each show by framing the scenes of queer youth sex as

Considering the implications of Netflix’s role as a content producer for cultural diversity in Europe, this methodological article investigates how to define and measure the locality of Netflix Originals. We employ a threefold methodological study based on industry data analysis, audience reception research, and content analysis. This replicable and scalable methodological design provides a solid analytical

WandaVision launched the Disney+ subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform by blending the sitcom and the superhero genres in a nostalgia-inducing fusion of Marvel comics, cinema and television. The series represents the canonisation of Marvel media into a single cohesive narrative ‘multiverse’, yet the story focuses on the personal experience of the character, Wanda, and her struggle with loss

Ted Lasso (2020-present) follows American Football coach, Ted Lasso, as he transforms the waning English Premier League team, AFC Richmond, through his relentless optimism and his mantra of ‘believe’. The show has been praised by critics for its emphasis on kindness and particularly for its exploration of ‘positive’ and ‘vulnerable’ masculinities. It is placed front and centre not just in promotion

This is a case study of 40 years of policy approaches in Australian children’s television during which the children’s television production ecology was profoundly altered by new distribution techno...

Despite critical and popular acclaim, the travel/food television series of Anthony Bourdain have not received much academic attention. This paper examines the negotiations required of the series’ p...

The Big Bang Theory, Atypical and Community are sitcoms paradigmatic of a recent representational shift, in which center stage is assumed by individuals who face psychological and neurological chal...

This article explores Netflix’s changing business strategies to diversify its catalogues, examining the practices of ‘direct commissioning’ and genre adaptation. The case study of Queen Sono, the f...

Those endorsing or opposing the development of television aesthetics scholarship have exhibited an admirable willingness to reflect upon the rationales and motivations for formulating value judgeme...

This institutional-industrial analysis evaluates how Netflix’s post-2016 rebranding efforts resulted in its ongoing transition from a centrally-managed multinational corporation, based mainly in Si...