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I was recently invited by The Conversation to write something for their site exploring y tuo kcehc
some of the arguments of my new book for a general audience. I like reading The
Conversation to see academics writing in a journalistic voice (something that some
are better at than others) and support their embrace of CreativeCommons licensing
and open republishing. So in that vein, heres the piece below the fold the
arguments will be familiar to regular readers of Just TV, but hopefully worth sharing
regardless.

Why has TV storytelling become so


complex?
Jason Mittell, Middlebury College
If you watch the season finale of The Walking Dead this Sunday, the story will likely
evoke events from previous episodes, while making references to an array of minor
and major characters. Such storytelling devices belie the shows simplistic scenario
of zombie survival, but are consistent with a major trend in television narrative.
Prime time televisions storytelling palette is broader than ever before, and today, a
serialized show like The Walking Dead is more the norm than the exception. We can Complex TV: The Poetics of
Contemporary Television
see the heavy use of serialization in other dramas (The Good Wife and Fargo) and Storytelling
comedies (Girls and New Girl). And some series have used self-conscious narrative
devices like dual time frames (True Detective), voice-over narration (Jane the
Virgin) and direct address of the viewer (House of Cards). Meanwhile, shows like
Louie blur the line between fantasy and reality.

How To Watch Television

The House of Cards Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) will often directly
address the audience one of many storytelling devices that have
emerged in television in recent years.
Many have praised contemporary television using cross-media accolades like
novelistic or cinematic. But I believe we should recognize the mediums
aesthetic accomplishments on its own terms. For this reason, the name Ive given to
this shift in television storytelling is complex TV.
There are a wealth of facets to explore about such developments (enough to fill a
book), but theres one core question that seems to go unasked: why has American
television suddenly embraced complex storytelling in recent years?
Television & American Culture
To answer, we need to consider major shifts in the television industry, new forms of
television technology, and the growth of active, engaged viewing communities.

A business model transformed

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We can quibble about the precise chronology, but programs that were exceptionally
innovative in their storytelling in the 1990s (Seinfeld, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer) appear more in line with narrative norms of the 2000s. And many of their
innovations season-long narrative arcs or single episodes that feature markedly
unusual storytelling devices seem almost formulaic today.
What changed to allow this rapid shift to happen?
As with all facets of American television, the economic goals of the industry is a
primary motivation for all programming decisions.
For most of their existence, television networks sought to reach the broadest
possible audiences. Typically, this meant pursuing a strategy of mass appeal
featuring what some derisively call least objectionable programming. To appeal to
as many viewers as possible, these shows avoided controversial content or confusing
structures.
But with the advent of cable television channels in the 1980s and 1990s, audiences
became more diffuse. Suddenly, it was more feasible to craft a successful program Genre and Television: From Cop
by appealing to a smaller, more demographically uniform subset of viewers a trend Shows to Cartoons in American
Culture
that accelerated into the 2000s.
In one telling example, FOXs 1996 series Profit, which possessed many of Search... Go
contemporary televisions narrative complexities, was quickly canceled after four
episodes for weak ratings (roughly 5.3 million households). These numbers placed it tsopm odnar
83rd among 87 prime time series.
feeling lucky?
Yet today, such ratings would likely rank the show in the top 20 most-watched
broadcast programs in a given week. Academia Books Complex TV
Copyright Fair Use Fandom Film
This era of complex television has benefited not only from more niche audiences, but Genre MediaCommons Media
also from the emergence of channels beyond the traditional broadcast networks. Politics Media Studies
Certainly HBOs growth into an original programming powerhouse is a crucial Meta-blogging Middlebury
catalyst, with landmarks such as The Sopranos and The Wire. Narrative New Media
Not Quite TV Press Publishing
But other cable channels have followed suit, crafting original programming that Representations Spoilers Taste
wouldnt fly on the traditional Big Four networks of ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX. Teaching Technology
Television TV Industry
A well-made, narratively-complex series can be used to rebrand a channel as a more TV Shows TV Textbook
prestigious, desirable destination. The Shield and Its Only Sunny in Philadelphia Vermont Videogames Viewers
transformed FX into a channel known for nuanced drama and comedy. Mad Men and
Breaking Bad similarly bolstered AMCs reputation. stm
nm
oec tnecer
The success of these networks has led upstart viewing services like Netflix and Christine Geraghty on
Amazon to champion complex, original content of their own while charging a Complex TV has arrived!
subscription fee.
Shannon on 30 Rock
The effect of this shift has been to make complex television a desirable business Comes to Middlebu
strategy. Its no longer the risky proposition it was for most of the 20th century. John Maxwell Hobbs on
Why has TV storytelling
Miss something? Hit rewind become
Questions, Secrets, on
Technological changes have also played an important role. These Questions Need
Answers:
Many new series reduce the internal storytelling redundancy typical of traditional Jason Mittell on I made a
television programs (where dialogue was regularly employed to remind viewers what remix!, or The Wire G
had previously occurred).
blackout on I made a
Instead, these series subtly refer to previous episodes, insert more characters remix!, or The Wire G
without worrying about confusing viewers, and present long-simmering mysteries and
enigmas that span multiple seasons. Think of examples such as Lost, Arrested Kelly on Losts Lingering
Questio
Development and Game of Thrones. Such series embrace complexity to an extent
that they almost require multiple viewings simply to be understood. jameszborowski on D.I.Y.
Disciplinarity (Dis)A
In the 20th century, rewatching a program meant either relying on almost random
reruns or being savvy enough to tape the show on your VCR. But viewing technologies David Alexander Smit on
D.I.Y. Disciplinarity
such as DVR, on-demand services like HBO GO, and DVD box sets have given (Dis)A
producers more leeway to fashion programs that benefit from sequential viewing and David Alexander Smit on
planned rewatching. D.I.Y. Disciplinarity
(Dis)A

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Peak @TheOnion: Experts Say Best
Option Now Is Keeping Nation As
Comfortable As Possible Till End
onion.com/1Ba1oGl 23 hours ago

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RT @PressPlayIW: Watch: Stanley
Kubrick's 'The Shining' Meets Alain
Resnais' 'Last Year at Marienbad'
blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/watc
via @indiewire 1 day ago
Family movie night: THE BOXTROLLS.
Quite fun and original, but the best
part is the reflexive tag during the
credits. 2 days ago
Local station is disrupting #Hannibal
with warning about 2 escaped
murderers in region. If they arent
wearing designer suits, I dont care!
2 days ago
RT @ibogost: All Possible Humanities
Dissertations Considered As Single
Tweets,
newyorker.com/culture/cultur
4 days ago

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ae
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Serialized novels like Charles Dickens The Mystery of Edwin Drood
were commonplace in the 19th century. Enter your email address
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Sign me up!
Like 19th century serial literature, 21st century serial television releases its episodes
in separate installments. Then, at the end of a season or series, it binds them stsop tnecer
together into larger units via physical boxed sets, or makes them viewable in their
Why has TV storytelling become so
entirety through virtual, on-demand streaming. Both encourage binge watching. complex?: A journalistic take
Complex TV has arrived!
Giving viewers the technology to easily watch and rewatch a series at their own pace D.I.Y. Disciplinarity
has freed television storytellers to craft complex narratives that are not dependent (Dis)Assembling LEGO Studies For
on being understood by erratic or distracted viewers. Todays television assumes The Academy
that viewers can pay close attention because the technology allows them to easily do Best Stuff of 2014
so. Taste Privilege and GamerGate
Evaluating Digital Scholarship, or
Confessions of an External Reviewer
Forensic fandom True Disappointment
Shifts in both technology and industry practices point toward the third major factor A Few Thoughts on Improving the
SCMS Conference
leading to the rise in complex television: the growth of online communities of fans. Gravity and the Power of
Narrative Limits
Today there are a number of robust platforms for television viewers to congregate How to Watch Television: Phineas
and discuss their favorite series. This could mean partaking in vibrant discussions on and Ferb
general forums on Reddit or contributing to dedicated, program-specific wikis.
sevihcra
As shows craft ongoing mysteries, convoluted chronologies or elaborate webs of
references, viewers embrace practices that Ive termed forensic fandom. Working Select Month
as a virtual team, dedicated fans embrace the complexities of the narrative where
not all answers are explicit and seek to decode a programs mysteries, analyze its
story arc and make predictions.
The presence of such discussion and documentation allows producers to stretch their
storytelling complexity even further. They can assume that confused viewers can skci lc pot
always reference the web to bolster their understanding.
docs.google.com/document/
Other factors certainly matter. For example, the creative contributions of innovative justtv.files.wordpress.co
writer-producers like Joss Whedon, JJ Abrams and David Simon have harnessed their ecla.de
unique visions to craft wildly popular shows. But without the contextual shifts that blog.commarts.wisc.edu/ta
scalar.usc.edu/works/comp
Ive described, such innovations would have likely been relegated to the trash bin, amazon.com/gp/product/184
joining older series like Profit, Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called Life in the justtv.files.wordpress.co
brilliant but canceled category. amazon.com/gp/product/019
monstersoftelevision.com/
Furthermore, the success of complex television has led to shifts in how the medium
conceptualizes characters, embraces melodrama, re-frames authorship and engages stsoppot
with other media. But those are all broader topics for another chapter or, as
television frequently promises, to be continued. Media violence and debating
effects & influences
Friday Night Lights and unmet
expectations
This article was originally published on The Conversation. On Disliking Mad Men
Read the original article. Lost's Lingering Questions
Lost in a Great Story

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Bordwell & Thompson
Category D
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Dr. Television
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Breath Photos That Will Leave FilmStudies for Free
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Graphic Engine
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Interface Aesthetics
Top 9 The Most Don't Ignore This jill/txt
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the chutry experiment
The Extratextuals
: s i ht erahS Timothy Burke
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anhoJ on April 14, 2015 said:

Reblogged this on John Maxwell Hobbs and commented:


Ive always been interested in the way that serialised storytelling has
allowed more complex stories and themes to be explored and how they have
afforded a more intimate relationship with the characters. This article provides an
interesting look into the way this approach has come to dominate TV these days.
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Complex TV has arrived!

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