Description
Book SynopsisShakespeare is everywhere in contemporary media culture.
This book explores the reasons for this dissemination and reassemblage. Ranging widely over American TV drama, it discusses the use of citations in
Westworld and
The Wire, demonstrating how they tap into but also transform Shakespeare’s preferred themes and concerns. It then examines the presentation of female presidents in shows such as
Commander in Chief and
House of Cards, revealing how they are modelled on figures of female sovereignty from his plays. Finally, it analyses the specifically Shakespearean dramaturgy of
Deadwood and
The Americans. Ultimately, the book brings into focus the way serial TV drama appropriates Shakespeare in order to give voice to the unfinished business of the American cultural imaginary.
Trade Review'This is a very intelligent and well-written book.'
Modern Language Review
'...it will delight readers who find pleasure in the rich and diverse world of serial drama available on quality television in the twenty-first century.'
Cahiers Elisabethains
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Table of ContentsIntroduction: appropriation, dislocation, and crossmapping
1 Shakespeare’s spectres: Westworld
2 Wearing the crown: The Wire
3 Choosing our queen: a series of first female presidents from Commander in Chief to House of Cards
4 Rogue queens: Veep, Homeland, and Scandal
5 All the frontier’s a stage: Deadwood
6 Carnival of spies: The Americans
Bibliography
Index
