A Vicious Viewership

Abstract

This paper uses the series Vicious (2013–2016), which aired on the British network ITV and the American noncommercial network PBS, as a case study in transatlantic reception for LGBTQ content. I draw on critical reception for the series, the star personae of lead actors Derek Jacobi and Ian McKellen, and studies of American perceptions of British masculinities. The varied reception for the series, understood through the networks’ economic models and cultural constructions of masculinities, reveals how notions of “quality” and “social progress” change as canned television travels to different national contexts.