Made for TV monsters : how has the rise of horror on US television affected the spectacle and acceptability of the genre?

Abstract

This study will explore the rise of horror drama on US television, investigating the significance of this trend of horror programming to both the US television industry and the understanding and acceptability of the horror genre as a whole. The first section will account for this increase in horror programming by providing the evidence that demonstrates how the shifts in the US television industry, trends in programming, serialisation and technological advances, have driven this cycle of horror drama. The study will then consider three case study examples in depth. While horror has been on US television before, the major turning point for the genre occurred in 2010 with The Walking Dead. The first case study will consider The Walking Dead and the impact this show had on the US television and advertising industries. It will explore how The Walking Dead began to break down the boundaries between horror, film and US television. The second case study will move over to the subscription service Netflix, and Hemlock Grove (2013 – 2015). This chapter will explore the use of the Gothic to elevate the horror drama in conjunction with the strategic ambitions of Netflix as they began their journey into original drama programming. The final case study will demonstrate the levels of acceptability that horror had reached on US television, through the exploration of a slasher on free to air network, Scream Queens (FOX, 2015 – 2017). Through the examination of previously considered disreputable horror film texts that Scream Queens both mimics and pays homage to, this case study will consider the rise of horror from lowbrow to middlebrow, and the merging of the gratuitous slasher film and pop culture US television. Examining how the TV horror text is impacted by the industrial conditions, the case studies will explore the developing spectacle and acceptability of the horror genre on US television