TY - JOUR

T1 - “Whatever Happened to Predictability?”

T2 - Fuller House, (Post)Feminism, and the Revival of Family-Friendly Viewing

AU - Loock, Kathleen

N1 - Funding Information: The author disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article: The work leading to this publication was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the People Program (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement n° 605728 (P.R.I.M.E. – Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience).

PY - 2018/5/1

Y1 - 2018/5/1

N2 - This article examines the Netflix revival of Full House, the family sitcom about three single men raising three girls that was part of the family-friendly “TGIF” (Thank Goodness It’s Funny) lineup ABC aired on Friday nights in the 1980s and 1990s. The 2016 release of Fuller House, I argue, was driven not only by the possibility to exploit an existing property with ongoing media and cultural presence in times of “peak TV” but also by Netflix’s strategic efforts to revive the bygone days of TGIF-style programming and reinvent family-friendly viewing in the era of complex television and online streaming platforms. In analyzing the Full House revival—its production and reception contexts, its carefully crafted text and paratexts, its position among complex dramas and edgy sitcoms—I will also trace the ways in which Fuller House engages in postfeminist discourse and raises pertinent questions about family values, gender roles, and ethnic diversity.

AB - This article examines the Netflix revival of Full House, the family sitcom about three single men raising three girls that was part of the family-friendly “TGIF” (Thank Goodness It’s Funny) lineup ABC aired on Friday nights in the 1980s and 1990s. The 2016 release of Fuller House, I argue, was driven not only by the possibility to exploit an existing property with ongoing media and cultural presence in times of “peak TV” but also by Netflix’s strategic efforts to revive the bygone days of TGIF-style programming and reinvent family-friendly viewing in the era of complex television and online streaming platforms. In analyzing the Full House revival—its production and reception contexts, its carefully crafted text and paratexts, its position among complex dramas and edgy sitcoms—I will also trace the ways in which Fuller House engages in postfeminist discourse and raises pertinent questions about family values, gender roles, and ethnic diversity.

KW - family-friendly viewing

KW - Fuller House

KW - Netflix

KW - peak TV

KW - postfeminism

KW - TGIF

KW - TV series revival

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85045051923&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/1527476417742972

DO - 10.1177/1527476417742972

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85045051923

VL - 19

SP - 361

EP - 378

JO - Television and New Media

JF - Television and New Media

SN - 1527-4764

IS - 4

ER -