ABSTRACT
From the moment television started to usurp American households, savvy television executives and producers specifically targeted the younger set. Throughout the 1950s, there was no shortage of entertainment for children, including action-adventure shows like The Adventures of Superman, juvenile Westerns, variety shows, and cartoons. Whether center stage or in the background, children have been a part of the American television landscape since the mass-introduction of TV sets. Children have long been a mainstay of American television in that most adaptable of TV genres: the family sitcom. The 1980s ushered in the era of transmedia intertextuality in television that forever changed the landscape of childhood in America. The 1990s witnessed the rise of the Internet and the increased dominance of visual culture, both heralding significant changes to the landscape of American children and childhood. The chapter also presents an overview of this book.
