Bianca Mitu, Silvia Branea, Valentina Marinescu

"Critical Reflections on Audience and Narrativity—New connections, New perspectives" offers an interdisciplinary and multicultural approach to fiction, reality, and narrativity applied to television series from all over the world. Dissecting the almost invisible barrier between fiction and reality in TV series from various perspectives, the chapters cover a wide range of contemporary classics from the post-network age. From "The X-Files" and "Desperate Housewives" to "The Wire" and "Breaking Bad", the chapters sketch TV series' development from the lowest form of mass entertainment to the sophisticated vehicle of highbrow intertextuality on a global scale. Also covering many international cases from Brazil, Serbia, Romania, and Turkey and locating them in the global web of puzzle narratives, the unique contributions draw connections between the most diverse audiences and the way they receive modern storytelling in a culturally globalized world. This timely volume is a great resource for anyone interested in contemporary mass culture.

Valentina Marinescu is Associate Professor Ph. D. at the Faculty of Sociology and Social Work, University of Bucharest. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media and society, research methods for mass communication, analysis of media content. Her interests lie in media and communication studies in Eastern Europe. She has also published several papers on these subjects.

Silvia Branea is Associate Professor Ph.D. at the Faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies, University of Bucharest, and Associate Researcher at the Laboratory of Sociology, Communication and Public Sphere, Institute of Sociology, Romanian Academy. She has an outstanding list of publications and presentations to International Conferences. Her interests lie in media and communication studies.

Bianca Mitu has a PhD in Media and Communication Studies, University of Bucharest. She is co-director of the Media and Communication Research Center ccmrc.eu and a part-time lecturer at the University of Bucharest. She was Visiting Scholar at CAMRI, University of Westminster, Faculty of Arts, Media and Design, London. She also holds a master degree in Media and Communication. She has a number of publications in International Journals in Italy, Germany, and the USA and she is a member of IAMCR, ECREA, UK Social Policy, and of the Editorial Board of the International Journal Interpersona, International Journal of Communication and Health, and International Journal of Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago.

"The new perspectives offered by this volume are of great interest for any European and International scholar mainly because the volume brings to light new ideas, new methodologies and results that could be further developed. Furthermore it is outstanding that the contributors to this book come from different countries (UK, Germany, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania) and somehow reach a common language in their studies."-Michael Higgins, University of Strathclyde, UK