“From Netflix to iQiyi: As the World Turns, Serial Dramas in Virtual Circulation” by Ying Zhu

Please join us for a talk featuring Professor Ying Zhu, Professor of Film at Hong Kong Baptist University on her research “From Netflix to iQiyi: As the World Turns, Serial Dramas in Virtual Circulation.”

This event will take place on Tuesday, March 19th, from 12:00-1:30pm in room K102. Prior to the talk, lunch will be provided to registrants at 11:45am. If you would like to attend this talk, please kindly RSVP by Wednesday, March 13th.

“From Netflix to iQiyi: As the World Turns, Serial Dramas in Virtual Circulation” by Dr. Ying Zhu

 Abstract 

A literary storytelling format dating back to the era of print medium, serial narrative has reinvented itself in numerous ways in the past decades, surviving successively the traditional TV network system, the rise of multi-channel cable and global satellite delivery, shifts in domestic and global regulatory policies and ownership rules, and most recently the rise of Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, now Disney Plus in the US, and Youku, Tudou, Bytedance, Mango TV, iQiyi, and Sohu in China. This talk discusses the interplay between serial dramas and streaming services in PRC and the US, the two leading countries in content-production and circulation in the era of non-synchronized, instantaneous, and globalized streaming ecosystem. It highlights the interaction between Netflix and iQiyi as the former seeks global expansion and the latter local dominance. The focus is on dramatic programing, particularly mini-series or what the media industry in the US now calls limited series.