Since the middle of the 90s, a new wave of American TV series have rivalled feature films in originality, intelligence and, sometimes, subversion, thus contributing to the evolution of aesthetic and ideological patterns.
Whether 24, Ally McBeal, Big Love, Carnivale, Damages, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes, Nip/Tuck, Prison Break, Queer as Folk, Rome, Sex & the City, The L Word, The Tudors, or The West Wing…—these series have all rejected the format of independent and autonomous episodes and abandoned the bland repetition of formulaic narrative that was typical of the TV series of the 80s.
They are now closer to serials, to be understood fully only if the spectators follow every single episode.
These new series work on entrapment in their storylines, but also in their narrative and reflexive features. How do characters and spectators become entrapped respectively inside the story and by the narrative?
How are the spectators tricked into following false leads?
Are their expectations fulfilled or thwarted?
What are the narrative processes used to attract spectators from one episode to the next, and from one season to the next?
What are the ideological consequences of this prolonged “sequels” and these conclusions forever postponed?
What are the narratological innovations of these new narrative forms?
Do they succeed in maintaining their originality or do they eventually fall into the trap of predictable storylines and stereotypes?
What are the side effects of these narrative traps?