American TV Series Revivals: Introduction

Abstract

This special issue examines contemporary American TV series revivals with a focus on production and reception contexts as well as the industrial, cultural, and textual practices involved. Each essay is concerned with a different case study and brings a distinct approach to the analysis of the trend on American network television and the online streaming service Netflix. Together, they analyze how revivals rely on past TV experiences to circulate new products through the crowded contemporary media landscape, and how they seek to negotiate the televisual heritage of original series, feelings of generational belonging, as well as notions of the past, present, and future in meaningful ways. This introduction to the special issue provides the definitions, broader historical context, and theoretical framework of televisual repetition and innovation for understanding contemporary TV series revivals.

Differentiation of series and tastes for TV series: The French case

“…The number of different series cited reflects the diversity of the productions people watch in practice. The amount of series cited manifests a diversification of the content frequented, echoing the recent inflation in the number of series produced, sometimes referred to as "peak television" (Loock, 2018). Age, primarily, followed by educational level -and indeed socio-professional category inasmuch as it adds further symbolic and economic dimensions -seem to account for the differentiation in tastes.…”

Cobra Kai Never Dies! Generational seriality and revived legacies of The Karate Kid

“…as in the dojo from The Karate Kid?” I remember his face lit up and long story short, we finished season 1 till that night (ahmadtheanon, 2021).In providing a new iteration of The Karate Kid saga, Cobra Kai is subjected to the dynamics that define the reception of film sequels, constantly navigating between existing sets of expectations—in repeating the core tropes of the original—yet simultaneously offering some strategic innovation that goes beyond the logic of reproduction. To attain critical, if not always financial success, the series revival has to meaningfully transplant itself into the present moment (Loock, 2018a: p. 300). Cobra Kai attains that through its accentuation of a generational gap and its frequent humorous clashes between the values held by middle‐aged heroes versus the opinions expressed by their protégées.…”

“…Julia Leyda (2018: p. 352) suggests that all forms of “media continuations,” whether it is a revival or a spin‐off, “share certain common dynamics, particularly regarding the management of expectations.” It is no coincidence that Netflix, as Kathleen Loock (2018a: p. 305) poignantly observes, “emerged as the driving force of the revival trend.” The rapid rise of streamers and the consequent upsurge of scripted programming are important factors behind these high‐profile resurrections. The number of scripted series in the United States has grown from approximately 409 in 2015 to a total of 532 in the following 4 years (Koblin, 2020).…”

Reciclajes seriales en la era de los servicios de vídeo bajo demanda

“…El concepto reboot, asociado al cómic antes de ser utilizado en cine y televisión, es una variedad del remake articulado sobre la noción de serialidad, en el sentido de reiniciar una serie de textos en lugar de reversionar un texto aislado, lo que lo relaciona con la franquicia (Gil, 2014). Por su parte, en el ámbito de las series se ha popularizado el concepto de revival para definir la reactivación de una narrativa serial que ha estado mucho tiempo fuera de producción manteniendo buena parte de sus elementos constitutivos previos (Loock, 2018).…”