ATS2257 Long-form television: "HBO" and beyond

The post-2000 era has seen radical transformations in the way television is produced, distributed, viewed and valued. This unit traces the development of one of the most visible and successful outcomes of these shifts, global long-form television series that experiment boldly with complex serial narratives, self-conscious stylistics and provocative themes and characters. Areas for discussion include the millennial industrial developments that enable these series to be produced, the critical discourses of 'quality' television that construct their artistic status, the transnational markets in which they circulate, and the audiences and fans that give them a cult life beyond the screen. Through examination of how these systems and strategies both break with and continue historical televisual traditions, the unit demonstrates how the long-form mode of storytelling exemplifies the cultural form of television as the most vital and influential of the millennial era.