HomeThe CW, , television network
The CW, , television network
The CW, television network
Published on Friday, October 14, 2016
Abstract
The US network The CW celebrates its ten-year anniversary this year. As the product of a merger between previous networks The WB and UPN, the small network has distinguished itself over its ten-year tenure with policies that are unique in the American television landscape. The diversity and originality of its programming have attracted an audience that is perhaps smaller than those garnered by the larger networks, but which has proven itself fiercely loyal to the channel. This day-long seminar therefore seeks to examine The CW’s fictions, but also, from a more global perspective, the channel itself. A case study of The CW will allow us to analyze these little-studied series but also to blend approaches to better understand this type of fiction.
Announcement
Day-long seminar, May 12, 2017, Université de Bordeaux-Montaigne
Argument
The US network The CW celebrates its ten-year anniversary this year. As the product of a merger between previous networks The WB and UPN, the small network has distinguished itself over its ten-year tenure with policies that are unique in the American television landscape. The diversity and originality of its programming have attracted an audience that is perhaps smaller than those garnered by the larger networks, but which has proven itself fiercely loyal to the channel. Through innovative broadcasting choices and groundbreaking deals with Netflix or Hulu, The CW has found an efficient model in the quickly-changing environment of contemporary television. By expanding the DC Comics television universe with four series in production concurrently (Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and now Supergirl, which left CBS for The CW starting fall 2016), the channel has created a complex and ambitious fictional and narrative universe. Likewise, by being the only channel to have renewed the entirety of its series in 2016, The CW has staked its future on its relationship with its fans. All of the channel’s most popular series are very active on social media, inspired by the model of their flagship series Supernatural, which has been crucial in branding the channel and in forging particularly strong ties with its fandom. Finally, The CW’s programming has foregrounded diversity, a fact that distinguishes it from other big networks where this representation is often minimal: race, gender, and sexual orientation are central to the showrunners as well as to their viewers. Ironically this strategy of social progressiveness was the cause of some turmoil when the death of an LGBTQ character from the series The 100 was criticized by fans, highlighting the way the networks target LGBTQ fans. This fledgling channel is therefore on the cutting edge of the contemporary television landscape, in terms of content, production strategies, or reception studies.
This day-long seminar therefore seeks to examine The CW’s fictions, but also, from a more global perspective, the channel itself. Very little work has been done on this network’s series, though they are among the most-watched by American viewers, and are innovative and worthy of study in their own right. A case study of The CW will allow us to analyze these little-studied series but also to blend approaches to better understand this type of fiction.
All approaches and disciplines are welcome, for case studies and for more global analyses.
Submission guidelines
Abstracts should be no longer than one page, accompanied by a short biography, and should be sent to Mélanie Bourdaa (melaniebourdaa@yahoo.fr), Claire Cornillon (clairecornillon@gmail.com), and Shannon Wells-Lassagne (shannon.wellslassagne@gmail.com)
by November 30, 2016
The seminar will take place at the Université de Bordeaux-Montaigne May 12, 2017.
Scientific committee
- Mélanie Bourdaa, MCF, Université Bordeaux-Montaigne
- Claire Cornillon, PRAG, Université Paul Valéry – Montpellier 3
- Shannon Wells-Lassagne, PU, Université de Bourgogne
Subjects
Places
- Bordeaux, France (33)
Date(s)
- Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Keywords
- The CW, network, télévision américaine, séries télévisées
Contact(s)
- Claire Cornillon
courriel : claire [dot] cornillon [at] unimes [dot] fr
Information source
- Claire Cornillon
courriel : claire [dot] cornillon [at] unimes [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« The CW, , television network », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Friday, October 14, 2016, https://doi.org/10.58079/vxj
