https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0277-8081
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ABSTRACT
The TV anthology series, which enjoyed significant popularity in the past but has been scarce amidst the dominance of episodic series and serials in the 2000s and early 2010s, seemed to experience a kind of renaissance after the international success of Black Mirror (Channel 4, 2011–2014; Netflix, 2016–present), followed by other popular shows like Room 104 (HBO, 2017–2020) and Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (Channel 4/Amazon Prime Video, 2017–2018). The anthology format differs from series and serials in that its seasons consist of packages of episodes that are not connected by a narrative throughline, but instead feature a different plot, cast, and story world in each installment, raising the question of whether they can really be described in terms of ‘seriality’. This article explores the serial qualities of the anthology format and the source of poetic unity that grants cohesion to the multifarious episodes bound together in this type of show. In the absence of narrative accumulation, alternative qualities of seriality are examined and several ‘anthological markers’ are identified. Ultimately, this article argues for a poetic peculiarity of the format that is determined by a dynamic interplay between a single creative purpose and episodic variety and experimentation.
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There are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report.
Notes
1. Throughout the article, we will refer to our subject of study as the TV anthology series, despite many of these shows coming from streaming services rather than television channels per se. We understand that the term ‘television’ is currently being reassessed (see Jenner Citation2018; Lobato Citation2019), but it is helpful to use a commonly understood term for consistency.
2. As C.E. Harris has noted, it has become increasingly difficult to reach a consensus regarding the specificities of TV’s Golden Ages: ‘Especially in more recent instances, we see references not only to the Golden Age of Television, but to several golden ages, often numbered, ranked or otherwise qualified in terms of technological evolution, aesthetics or content. This has resulted in a confusing and redundant means of classification, which has the tendency to recourse to evaluative claims that are difficult to systematize and often problematic in their own right’ (Citation2021, 53).
3. The idea that a saturated supply of content could have led to more varied and, especially, shorter formats of serialized scripted TV seems to find support as well in the increasing popularity of miniseries and limited series. A look at the Emmy Awards can help to neatly illustrate this change both in quantity and cultural relevance. In 2009 and 2010, there were only two respective nominees in the ‘Miniseries’ category – Little Dorrit (BBC One, 2008) and Generation Kill (HBO, 2008) in 2009; The Pacific (HBO, 2010) and Return to Cranford (BBC One, 2009) in 2010 – whereas in the 2021 ‘Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series’ category, the list of critically acclaimed and popular nominees was indeed longer: The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix, 2020), WandaVision (Disney+, 2021), Mare of Easttown (HBO, 2021), I May Destroy You (BBC One/HBO, 2020), and The Underground Railroad (Amazon Prime Video, 2021) (See also Berg and Berg Citation2017; Taurino Citation2020, 98–100, 108–111).
4. In his dissertation, Alvey develops this concept, applying it to four one-hour drama series: Naked City (ABC, 1958–1963), Route 66 (CBS, 1960–1964), The Defenders (CBS, 1961–1965), and The Fugitive (ABC, 1963–1967).
5. Although this article does not explore the complex terminological debate over whether the anthology is to be considered a genre or a format, it may be of help to remember that the term ‘format’ is more often employed in the industrial context of production and distribution. In this regard, Glen Creeber argues that ‘[t]he crucial distinction between a genre and a format is most clearly understood as the amount of detail that a format tells us about a TV programme. While a rather loose set of characteristics may connect the various programmes in a genre, a format will describe a particular show in a very exact manner, setting out its overall concept, premise and branding’ (Citation2015, 11).
6. A tweet by Netflix on May 19, 2019, explained: ‘We’ve never had a show like Love, Death & Robots before so we’re trying something completely new: presenting four different episode orders’.
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Notes on contributors
Pablo Castrillo
Pablo Castrillo is a screenwriter and Associate Professor in the Department of Film, TV and Digital Media at the University of Navarra (Spain). He obtained his Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University under a Fulbright scholarship (2013), and his PhD in Communication/Film Studies at the University of Navarra (2017), with a dissertation on the Hollywood political thriller film. He is the author of History and Story in the American Political Thriller Film: Hollywood in the Labyrinth (Lexington Books, 2023), and has published scholarly work in Journal of Popular Film and Television, Quarterly Review of Film and Video, and Journal of Screenwriting.
Alberto N. García
Alberto N. García is an Associate Professor of Film and Television Studies at the School of Communication, Universidad de Navarra (Spain). He has been Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland (Australia) and the University of Stirling (United Kingdom), as well as Visiting Scholar at George Washington University (Washington D.C.). He has published his work in journals such as Continuum, International Journal of Communication, Quarterly Review of Film and Video and Horror Studies. He has edited the books Landscapes of the Self: The Cinema of Ross McElwee (2007) and Emotions in Contemporary TV-Series (Palgrave, 2016). He is currently researching on Television Aesthetics, and is a member of the “Bonds, Creativity and Culture” research group.