Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Irony and Sincerity in Contemporary Television: Playing Nice in Aesthetics and Politics

Irony and Sincerity in Contemporary Television: Playing Nice in Aesthetics and Politics

Cantrell, Owen
Westfall, Sage

Hardcover

TelevisionGeneral Sociology

ISBN10: 1666968609
ISBN13: 9781666968606
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Published: Apr 2 2026
Pages: 256
Weight: 1.12
Height: 0.63 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English

In the wake of the contemporary Golden Age of Television and political polarization in the United States, this collection argues that the tension between sincerity and irony in nicecore television is crucial to understanding its aesthetic and political aims.
An interdisciplinary range of both established and emerging scholars analyze shows like Schitt's Creek, Ted Lasso, Jury Duty, and The Bear to highlight how creators are responding to audience demands for sincerity in the contemporary television landscape. Placing the concept of 'niceness' in relation to queerness, class, unlikability, traditional gender norms, and the comfort of sincerity, contributors demonstrate how even across genres and individual creators, these seemingly lighthearted shows each have unique and important messages and goals beneath the surface. As a whole, this collection presents a clear picture of how the 21st-century political landscape has shaped both manifestations and interpretations of the New Sincerity aesthetic in televisual media.

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