This book explores the cycle of horror on US television in the decade following the launch of The Walking Dead, considering the horror genre from an industrial perspective. Examining TV horror through rich industrial and textual analysis, this book reveals the strategies and ambitions of cable and network channels, as well as Netflix and Shudder, with regards to horror serialization. Selected case studies; including American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Creepshow, Ash vs Evil Dead, and Hannibal; explore horror drama and the utilization of genre, cult and classic horror texts, as well as the exploitation of fan practice, in the changing economic landscape of contemporary US television. In the first detailed exploration of graphic horror special effects as a marker of technical excellence, and how these skills are used for the promotion of TV horror drama, Gaynor makes the case that horror has become a cornerstone of US television.
Author(s): Stella Marie Gaynor
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 266
City: Cham
Preface
Acknowledgements
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
Bibliography
Television
Part I: Cable Television
Chapter 2: The Rise of TV Horror
AMC: American Movie Classics
AMC Drama Strategy
AMC and The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead and Tensions Between TV and Horror
The Walking Dead and Advertising
Genre and Drama
Season One: October 2010–November 2010
Season Two: October 2011–March 2012
Season Three: October 2012–March 2013
Season Four: October 2013–March 2014
Season Five: October 2014–March 2015
Season Six: October 2015–April 2016
Season Seven: October 2016–April 2017
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 3: Horror and Peak TV
FX and Fearless Horror
American Horror Story: Murder, Monsters, and Madness
Ryan Murphy’s Merry-Go-Round of Horror
The Vampire, the Parasite, and the Medical Procedure in The Strain
What’s Your Favourite Scary Movie?
Seasons One and Two: A Very Simple Formula
The Rules of a Trilogy
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 4: TV Horror and Technical Excellence
Splatters, Decapitations, and Walkers-of-the-Week
Horror in the Public Eye
Del Toro’s Creatures
American Horror Story: A Circus of Horrors
Addiction and Realism in Hotel and Cult
Bibliography
Television
Film
Part II: Internet-Distributed and Pay Subscription Television
Chapter 5: Netflix and Data-Driven Horror
Netflix and Original Drama
Data-Driven Horror
Three Trailers, Three Horrors
Trailer 1: “Allies and Enemies”
Trailer 2: “Blood Ties”
Trailer 3: “Monsters Within”
Revisiting Classic Monsters
The Werewolf Transformation
Plotting a Horror Through a Portal
A Broad Spectrum of Horror Experiences
Experimenting with Ghosts
Horror Docudrama
A Breathless Apocalypse
Horror on Netflix Diversifies
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 6: Shudder and the Specific Niche
Maintaining Subscribers
Digital Urban Legend: Shudder and Creepypasta
An Uncanny Nostalgia
Going to the Drive-In
The New Sound
Experimentation and Neo-Noir
The Sound is Everything
A Beloved Franchise and the Horror Family
Practical Authenticity
Creepshow and the Horror Cycle
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 7: The Brand, the Gothic, the Cult, and the Iconic
The Iconic Gothic
Everyone Knows Who Dracula Is
The Gothic Prestige
Plenty of Sex Please, They’re British
Attention Grabbing Gothic
King of The Cult
A Cult of Personality
Feeding the Deadites
Splatstick: A Side-Splitting Bloodbath
Big Brand Horror
Horror, Mystery, and Shawshank?
Bibliography
Television
Film
Part III: Network Television
Chapter 8: Established Horror
Thursday Night Must See TV
Dinner Is Served
The Horror Procedural
“Have you ever seen blood in the moonlight?”
Broadcast Body Horror
Broadcast Horror and Broadcast Ratings
Broadcast Bites
Dracula and Van Helsing?
Life After Death
The CW: Comic World
A Rom-Com-Zom-Dram
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 9: Renegotiating Horror
Fox and the Horror Cycle
The Cultural Renegotiation of Horror
Promoting Scream Queens: Season One
Season Premiere and Ratings Spin
The Expansion of Scream Queens Second Season
The Slasher and Scream Queens: Building on the Classics
The Slasher: Trash or Classic?
Scream Queens and Intertextuality: What Fresh Hell Is This?
Murder and Homage
The Power of Controversy Compels You
Capitalizing on Controversy
The Exorcist on Fox: Legacy and Homage
The Devil Is in the Detail
Ratings, Renewals, and Risks
Horror: A Cornerstone of US Television
Bibliography
Television
Film
Chapter 10: Conclusion
Bibliography
Television
Index
