Abstract
This chapter explores a “Netflix discourse” of fandom where it is claimed that Netflix can “unveil” fandom even when audiences do not self-identify as fans. This creates tensions between lived experiences of fandom and the data-driven targeting of multi-niche fan audiences. Rather than arguing that Netflix displaces national (US/UK) mainstreams, the chapter considers how national/transnational fan identities remain relationally in play. It focuses on Black Mirror as a case study, with this Channel 4 show having become a Netflix production from 2016 onward. The program’s creator, Charlie Brooker, mocked fears of “Americanization,” with the program’s fandom on Reddit following his lead and tending to read Netflix-produced seasons in terms of an “extended universe” rather than via US/UK-oriented meanings. However, fans have also carried out “coded” readings of “authentic” (British / Channel 4) Black Mirror by suggesting a “secret downer ending” to a Netflix episode that appeared to have an unusually happy ending.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Transatlantic Television Drama |
| Subtitle of host publication | Industries, Programs, and Fans |
| Editors | Matt Hills, Michele Hilmes, Roberta Pearson |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press |
| Chapter | 10 |
| Pages | 213-238 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780190663155 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780190663131, 9780190663124 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 24 Jan 2019 |