Dossier: Television Cities

Dossier editor: Lawrence Webb

Kim Wilkins, Familiar Spectacles: Nightclub Space in TV Berlin

Kim Wilkins examines spectacular yet familiar scenes of Berlin nightclubs in serial television, arguing that they draw on the city’s history of hedonism to promote its present-day image as a nightlife capital.

Ipek A. Celik Rappas, TV Cities, Istanbul: The Labor of Reconstructing History in Turkish TV Series

How is historic Istanbul recreated for the screen? Drawing on interviews with local media professionals, Ipek Celik Rappas considers the challenges of filming heritage television series in a rapidly changing city.

Myles McNutt, Where is it Safe to Make Television? COVID, “Don’t Say Gay,” and the Instability of Spatial Capital

Myles McNutt looks at how the issue of safety is redrawing the map of US television production, from Covid-19 to new forms of discriminative legislation on issues such as abortion and LGBTQ+ rights.

Helen Morgan Parmett, “Fix it! And Accessorize it!”: Gender, Nostalgia, and the City in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Can televisual nostalgia for midcentury Manhattan have feminist potential? Helen Morgan Parmett explores Greenwich Village and gender politics in The Marvelous Mrs Maisel.

Kat Pearson, “A Change from Murder and Mayhem”: UK City of Culture on Television

Kat Pearson considers the role of television in Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture, from BBC programming to local events that enabled residents to engage with the city’s history through the TV archives.

Charlotte Brunsdon, Afterword: The time of the Television City has Come

Charlotte Brunsdon reflects on recurring themes in the dossier and discusses the enticements and challenges of studying television cities.

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