Complex Serial Drama and Multiplatform Television

This book examines the creative strategies, narrative characteristics, industrial practices and stylistic tendencies of complex serial drama. Exemplified by shows like HBOs The Sopranos, AMCs Mad Men and Breaking Bad, Showtimes Dexter, and Netflixs Stranger Things, complex serials are distinguished by their conceptual originality, narrative complexity, transgressive lead characters and serial allure. As a drama form that continues to expand and diversify in todays television, HBOs Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones, Netflixs Orange Is the New Black and Hulus The Handmaids Tale provide further examples. Dunleavy investigates the strategies that underpin the innovations, influence and success of complex serial drama, giving students and scholars a nuanced understanding of this contemporary TV form.