Putting the Premium into Basic: Slow-Burn Narratives and the Loss-Leader Function of AMC’s Original Drama Series

Smith, Anthony

Abstract

This article traces connections between the institutional configuration of the AMC basic cable channel and the deliberately paced narratives of its original series, such as Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Rubicon. Scholarly and popular discourses concerning U.S. drama series frequently observe the divergent ways in which the economic models of network and premium cable each influence series production, emphasizing the fundamental distinctions between the two institutional types. Yet such discourses, by relying on this paradigm of institutional binary, often overlook the role of basic cable’s economic model in the commissioning of drama series. This article explores the unique implications of this model along with the specificity of AMC’s particular institutional configuration. Utilizing a combination of narrative and industrial analysis, the article determines the economic logics that enable AMC to situate its series’ slow-burn storytelling within an advertiser-supported context.

Citation

Smith, A. (2011). Putting the Premium into Basic: Slow-Burn Narratives and the Loss-Leader Function of AMC’s Original Drama Series. Television and New Media, 14(2), https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476411418537

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Oct 20, 2011
• Deposit Date: Jan 30, 2024
• Journal: Television & New Media
• Print ISSN: 1527-4764
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 14
• Issue: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476411418537