ABSTRACT

Chapter 4 analyses a sequence from Game of Thrones (HBO) to compare the single camera production of filmed drama series with studio shows and features. The chapter shows how this form of series became the dominant design for prime time TV when the US broadcast networks moved from a focus on live studio production to contracting out drama production to the Hollywood studios. Looking at examples from the episodic productions of Warner Brothers’ Western series in the 1950s and Universal Studios’ detective series in the 1970s the chapter illustrates the development of serial narratives from Hill Street Blues to The Sopranos and The Wire. The chapter also shows how the development of video recording and editing technology enabled the development of a range of styles of series, sometimes called televisuality, which approximated to cinema effects but retained the process efficiencies and production cycles inherited from B-movie production.