« Series finale » : enjeux et théorie d’un compromis moderne

• Main Author: Vladimir Lifschutz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Groupe de Recherche Identités et Cultures 2015-06-01
• Series: TV Series
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/tvseries/284

This article explores the issue of finality in serial fiction. We explore the stakes of the series finale, which is the ultimate period of a vast narrative project. As we go back through the thread of the story and study changes in endings, we offer a theory on series’ endings as based on a systematic challenging of a “formula” – a “deformulation” whose objective is to allow the fiction to evolve from its first airing to a larger world we will call the world of “multimedia re-appropriation”. This theory is here tested through the practical example of sitcom Scrubs (aired from 2001 to 2008 on NBC and from 2009-2010 on ABC). The economical mutation around TV shows changes the expectations by TV networks and studios, and gives a new role to the ending, which becomes a link between two forms of existence.