E379R * Binge-watching: A Cultural History * Dr. H.

Wojciehowski

2nd Exam Questions

Part I:
10 IDs (characters, places, etc.) from post-Spring Break screenings (choice of 11, 1 pt. ea).

Part II:
Scripts from The Office (UK and US), Treme, and Stranger Things (choose two of four, 25 pts.
ea.). Do a close reading of the two scripts.

Part III: Essay question. What, in your view, are the three most important factors that make a
series bingeable? In your answer, please reference as many series from our course as possible,
as well as the series that you are writing about in your final paper. Please discuss at least two
chapters from Mittell, Chapters 5-10, and cite page numbers, as well (40 pts. ea.). You can
decide on what to incorporate ahead of time.

There are many factors that make a series deemed “bingeable”, in my opinion
characters, drama, and accessibility which goes hand in hand with comprehension as said by
Mittell. First, the overall likeability of characters draw the audience in. Complex, yet likable
characters are key to creating a bingeable television show. As seen in the comparison of the UK
and US versions of The Office during this class, there is anecdotal evidence from my peers that
the US version is much more “bingeable”. Some of my classmates said this was because the UK
version of The Office was “too cringey”, but I think part of this was also due in part to the
“boss” character played by Carrell and Gervais. Carrell, and the producers decided to make
Scott’s character much more likeable in order to better appeal to the American audience. They
knew that if Carrell played the boss in the same way as Gervais, it would be unsuccessful.
American audiences are known to be more inclined to watch a show if the main character has
“redeeming qualities”. We see here with Scott in comparison with Brent, is a good person at
heart. Brent is shown to be abrasive, inappropriate, and awkward, without incorporating any
redeeming qualities. Conversely, Scott is shown more to be naïve, unknowing, and
inappropriate in a more innocent way with his intentions never being cruel. Mittell talks about
making this connection with characters in chapter 4 of his book. Saying the key to making
connections between characters and the audience lies in “recognition, alignment and
allegiance” (129). Alignment allows the audience to attach themselves to the characters, and
even an “ensemble of characters”, as would be the case in The Office. This likeability of
characters makes the audience form an attachment to them and keeps us bingeing to see
what’s going to happen next to our favorites.
The next most important aspect to creating a bingeable show is drama, or as Mittell
would call it “serial melodrama”, this is best shown in the series we watched, Stranger Things.
Stranger Things is extremely bingeable because not only are the characters likeable, and
relatable, but we are also sucked in by this drama.