Redefining TV Series Beyond Seriality

The article, authored by Christophe Kihm and published in artpress in 2014, challenges the conflation of television series with seriality—a confusion rooted in media studies. It argues that the rise of complex shows like The Sopranos (1999-2007) has blurred genre boundaries, necessitating new analytical frameworks. The text traces the evolution of TV series scholarship from monographs in the 1990s to broader humanities studies. It critiques the industrial model of serialization, citing Geneviève Piéjut's 1987 analysis of TV series as products of cultural industrialization characterized by standardization and marketing. Carlo Freccero's concept of "fidélisation" (loyalty) is discussed as applying serial order to programming grids. The article distinguishes between "séries télévisées" (TV format) and "séries télévisuelles" (TV medium), noting that seriality extends beyond fiction to all programming, including news and sports. It argues that post-1990s fictions have escaped the constraints of seriality and television, enabling new temporal scales and viewing practices via streaming and DVD. The piece calls for a fresh examination of televisual experience, free from the old equation of series with seriality.