ABSTRACT
This chapter uses contemporary television production as a context in which to demonstrate the techniques and benefits of theoretical approaches to media products. Using the Netflix series Stranger Things, the chapter explores both genre and narrative conventions and the ways these are observed and challenged by contemporary producers. There is a substantial discussion around both genre and narrative theory. This leads to a consideration of hybridity and intertextuality and ultimately to a consideration of postmodernist perspectives on media. Baudrillard’s notions of simulation and the hyperreal are both discussed and exemplified. The chapter ends with two case studies relating specifically to TV drama and reality TV.
