ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses a genre that has become increasingly successful in recent years: TV soap operas dealing with politics and the actions of politicians. By turning to the far-less strategically planned and polished backstage of contemporary politics, this genre represents what is assumed, presupposed or even known about the everyday life of politicians, about their private lives, their advisers and spin-doctors, possible scandals or conflicts, as well as the strategies and processes of political problem-solving. Most examples in media studies cast their gaze on the work and life of politicians from outside, rather than within, the world of politics. These are official genres, designed for the public. Backstage is where performers are present, but the wider audience is not. The complexity of politics in a global world is thus simplified; complex, multi-dimensional processes across space and time, and a diversity of social fields are reduced to telegenic personalities, distinct events and simple solutions.
