“Whatever Happened to Predictability?”

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

authored by: Kathleen Loock
Abstract: 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.
External Organisation(s): Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin)
Type: Article
Journal: Television and New Media
Volume: 19
Pages: 361-378
No. of pages: 18
ISSN: 1527-4764
Publication date: 01.05.2018
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Cultural Studies, Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 5 - Gender Equality
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476417742972 (Access: Closed)

BibTeX

@article{2ba29b1239644d0f8b597cfd31cdd8d5,
title = "“Whatever Happened to Predictability?”: Fuller House, (Post)Feminism, and the Revival of Family-Friendly Viewing",
abstract = "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{\textquoteright}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{\textquoteright}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.",
keywords = "family-friendly viewing, Fuller House, Netflix, peak TV, postfeminism, TGIF, TV series revival",
author = "Kathleen Loock",
note = "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{\textquoteright}s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement n° 605728 (P.R.I.M.E. – Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience). ",
year = "2018",
month = may,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1177/1527476417742972",
language = "English",
volume = "19",
pages = "361--378",
journal = "Television and New Media",
issn = "1527-4764",
publisher = "SAGE Publications Inc.",
number = "4",
}