Since first going on the air in 1972, HBO has continually attempted to redefine television as we know it. Today, pay television (and HBO in particular) is positioned as an alternative to network offerings, consistently regarded as the premier site for what has come to be called "quality television."
This collection of new essays by an international group of media scholars argues that HBO, as part of the leading edge of television, is at the center of television studies’ interests in market positioning, style, content, technology, and political economy. The contributors focus on pioneering areas of analysis and new critical approaches in television studies today, highlighting unique aspects of the "HBO effect" to explore new perspectives on contemporary television from radical changes in technology to dramatic shifts in viewing habits.
It’s Not TV
provides fresh insights into the "post-television network" by examining HBO’s phenomenally popular and pioneering shows, including
The Sopranos
,
The Wire
Six Feet Under
Sex and the City
as well as its failed series, such as
K Street
and
The Comeback
. The contributors also explore the production process itself and the creation of a brand commodity, along with HBO’s place as a market leader and technological innovator.
Contributors:
Kim Akass, Cara Louise Buckley, Rhiannon Bury, Joanna L. Di Mattia, Blake D. Ethridge, Tony Kelso, Marc Leverette, David Marc, Janet McCabe, Conor McGrath, Shawn McIntosh, Brian L. Ott, Avi Santo, Lisa Williamson
Foreword by Toby Miller
Marc Leverette
is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of
Professional Wrestling, the Myth, the Mat, and American Popular Culture
and co-editor of
Zombie Culture: Autopsies of the Living Dead
Oh My God, They Deconstructed South Park! Those Bastards!
Brian L. Ott
is Associate Professor of Media Studies at Colorado State University. He is author of
The Small Screen: How Television Equips Us to Live in the Information Age
.
Cara Louise Buckley
is a lecturer at Emerson College.