YOUNG ADULTS AND TV SERIES.NETFLIX AND NEW FORMS OF SERIAL NARRATIVES FOR YOUNG VIEWERS

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MeTis. Mondi educativi. Temi, indagini, suggestioni 10(1) 2020, 296-312
ISSN: 2240 9580 DOI: 10.30557/MT00124
EX-ORDIUM
YOUNG ADULTS AND TV SERIES.
NETFLIX AND NEW FORMS OF SERIAL NARRATIVES
FOR YOUNG VIEWERS
di Dalila Forni
Tra i maggiori mezzi di narrazione visiva, le serie tv si rivelano
oggi estremamente popolari e pervasive, in grado di accattivare
un grande pubblico al di là del genere e dell’età. A incrementare
questo fenomeno, il recente avvento e sviluppo di piattaforme in
streaming on-demand, tra cui Netflix, dove gli adolescenti e i giovani
adulti ricoprono una notevole parte del pubblico di riferimento.
L’articolo vuole indagare come le serie tv per adolescenti, pur ri-
facendosi ai canoni della letteratura per ragazzi, stiano contami-
nando le modalità di narrazione e fruizione delle storie per giova-
ni adulti, presentando potenziali rischi nella modalità di utilizzo,
spesso legate a pratiche come quella del binge watching (guardare
programmi televisivi per un lungo lasso di tempo e senza soste).
Il presente articolo intende quindi proporre una panoramica di
alcuni dei contenuti e dei formati offerti dalle opere per giovani
adulti nella piattaforma streaming e tracciare le tendenze di un
profondo cambiamento nella loro fruizione, un cambiamento che
presuppone un impegno critico e un’attenzione pedagogica al fine
di servirsi di questi nuovi media evitando i pericoli a essi correlati.
Nowadays, tv series are one of the major visual-narrative me-
dia: they are extremely popular and persistent and they can capti-
vate a wide audience beyond gender and age. This trend was
boosted by the success of on-demand streaming platforms, such
as Netflix, where a great percentage of the target audience con-

Young adults and TV series 297
sists of teenagers and young adults. The present paper aims to in-
vestigate the influence of tv series for teenagers – mainly based
on children’s literary tradition – on new forms of narration and
fruition of stories, providing new potential risks in their usage, of-
ten connected to practices such as binge-watching (watching tv
series for a long time with no break). The present paper wants to
offer an overview of the most common contents and formats of-
fered by tv series for young audiences in the streaming platform
and to outline new tendencies regarding a complex change in
their fruition; a change that implies critical commitment and ped-
agogical attention so as to utilize new media avoiding foremost
dangers.
1. TV series: storytelling from past to present
TV series are narrative works of fiction that consist of epi-
sodes characterized by totally or partially self-conclusive plots.
They are developed through a series of recurring characters and
places that generally follow a macro-narrative (Brembilla & De
Pascalis, 2018). The plots proposed through this format build on
the canons of cinema and literature and cover different genres,
from fantasy to thriller, from historical to romantic fiction (Inno-
centi & Pescatore, 2014, pp. 4-8). These stories follow a particular
narrative mode, seriality: a tv fiction is not simply a story divided
into several parts, but it consists of isolated and independent
units, whose division is carefully arranged for both artistic and
commercial reasons. This strategy is not entirely new but dates
back to literary expedients that characterized the 19th Century,
when novels, including those by Charles Dickens, were frequently
serialized and published in monthly episodes. This format
[...] aroused in the reader the expectation of a new episode, and in-
duced the author to write intriguing endings, full of suspense, so as to
face the audience’s expectations, exploiting the possibility of the maga-
zine’s editorial format to reduce the distance between text, content, and
reader. In the seriality of the contents [...] the link between the narra-

Young adults and TV series 298
tive’s structure and the industrial process of serialization was therefore
legible, i.e. between the increase in the diffusion of available editorial for-
mats and the narrative models that were emerging (Lino, 2016, p. 2)
1
.
Therefore, serialization, whether literary or audio-visual, re-
quires considerable attention during its structuring: the plot
should be clearly solved and single units should be characterized
by cliff-hangers, a technique in which the narrative is suspended
at the height of tension, generating suspense, so as to keep the
curiosity of the reader/spectator high (Rossini, 2016). Drawing
on the literary canon for childhood and adulthood, TV series use
a different medium to renew some of the structures at the basis
of storytelling, which are now characterized by a cross-media and
mass-media nature (Faeti, 1983). Starting for example from the
fairy-tale (Cambi, 1999), many TV series have reinterpreted met-
aphors and narrative strands to offer stories anchored to the past,
but evolving in modern techniques and sensibilities (Barsotti &
Cantatore, 2019).
Originally, television series were structured in close relation to
the medium through which they could be followed – television –
and for this reason the episodes were often disconnected from
each other, without a narrative continuity (Innocenti & Pescatore,
2014; Rossini, 2016). A first turning point occurred between the
1980s and 1990s, when series began to acquire greater artistic
value, even if they were still perceived as an inferior art form
compared to cinema, a “bad copy” (Sepiwall, 2014). Initially, the
two narrative formats were profoundly different: cinema was en-
joyed in theatres, where audiences could pay attention to details,
quotes, possible twists and turns, an art that fully involved the
1
Original Italian text: «[…] suscitava nel lettore l’attesa della nuova punta-
ta, e portava l’autore a scrivere finali intriganti, ricchi di suspense, spesso alla
luce degli orizzonti di attesa del pubblico, sfruttando così la possibilità del
formato editoriale della rivista di accorciare la distanza tra testo, contenuto e
lettore. Nella serialità dei contenuti […] era quindi leggibile il legame tra la
strutturazione della forma narrativa e il processo industriale della serializzazio-
ne, ovvero tra l’aumento della diffusione di formati editoriali disponibili e i
modelli narrativi che si andavano delineando».

Young adults and TV series 299
viewer without distractions. On the contrary, television series
were initially enjoyed at home, in an environment that is often
confusing, and they interacted with an unaware, passive, and not
fully interested spectator: a product that « […] must be simple,
easy to understand, [...] redundant, in order to allow viewers to
leave temporarily for certain tasks, as it often happens at home,
and then be able to continue watching it without trauma»
2
(Sepi-
wall, 2014, p. 10). Therefore, series were perceived as secondary
narrations, but they have found a reversal in the last few years:
cinema has become more generalist, more and more popular,
while TV series, that have been untied from the limits of the TV
schedule to reach platforms such as Netflix, have evolved into a
more complex art, which in many cases takes up (if not even sur-
passes, in some brilliant examples) the cinematographic narration
as far as aesthetic, thematic and formal choices are concerned.
Thus, it is a narration that requires critical tools to be understood,
appreciated and enjoyed in the most efficient way even by the
youngest (Cambi, 2010; Di Bari, 2013; 2017), as it is capable of
generating a precise socially shared imaginary, which is the result
of culturally recognized narrative universes (Barsotti & Cantatore,
2019; Beseghi, 2017).
The new medium has therefore led to new narrative struc-
tures: TV series have revolutionized the intertwining of stories,
proposing narratological structures that break the rules of tradi-
tional storytelling to experiment with linearity and fragmentation,
making the most out of the “fragments” offered through the epi-
sodes (Innocenti & Pescatore, 2014; Lino, 2016; Rossini, 2016).
So new writing trends are born, among which we can remember
the hybridization of literary genres, often connected in borderline,
intersectional works; a greater narrative complexity generated by
the temporal extension that characterizes the series; the presence
of choral narratives, with detailed insights into both primary and
2
Original Italian text: «[…] deve essere semplice, di facile comprensione,
[…] ridondante, per permettere agli spettatori di allontanarsi momentaneamen-
te per alcune incombenze così come accade nella fruizione casalinga, per poi
riuscire a riprendere la visione senza traumi».

Young adults and TV series 300
secondary characters; new experimentations with temporality,
which sees screenwriters and directors playing with space and
time. The character is also transformed: he or she is no longer a
good and noble fairytale hero (Cambi, 1999), but an anti-hero
with lights and shadows, often balanced between good and evil,
so as to represent everyday life more realistically. Therefore, spec-
tators can count on a greater identification and a deep empathic
contact that makes these narratives particularly close to the expe-
rience of those who are watching the show (Rossini, 2016; Sepi-
wall, 2014).
2. Netflix: an audio-visual library for new filmic marathons
Netflix was created from an idea of Reed Hastings and Marc
Randolph, who started a DVD rental company in 1997, and in
2007 founded the well-known platform, where both original films
and audio-visual works from other studios are offered. Netflix
catalogue ranges between genres and generations: documentaries,
comedies, horrors, detective stories, romances, addressing an au-
dience that goes from childhood to adulthood, through adoles-
cence.
The platform differs from television programming to propose
itself as an online television capable of reshaping the fruition of
films and TV series (Innocenti & Pescatore, 2014). Netflix is
based on the library model since it is presented as a film library
with a free consultation, subject to the payment of a monthly sub-
scription, which is a profound innovation as far as the role of the
viewer is concerned: without the constraints previously dictated by
television times, the viewer can choose where, how, when and for
how long to enjoy the desired product (Brembilla, 2018).
Moreover, Netflix focuses on user profiling to propose cus-
tomized options: the main page of the site presents not only
works that could be appreciated by the subscriber (based on the
preferences expressed and the products previously watched by
the viewer) but also benefits from a database of thumbnails, that

Young adults and TV series 301
is a series of preview images for each work, which are suggested
differently for every single customer. Thus, Netflix operates a
customization strategy to offer each subscriber a unique version
of the site, able to provide a tailored experience.
In addition, the platform offers large amounts of audio-visual
contents, so as to attract a greater number of new users and to
increase the number of hours spent viewing. More users also
mean more information gathering, which might help the compa-
ny to work on even more targeted choices. To expand its pack-
age, in 2012 Netflix chose to produce original shows referring to
different genres. So, the platform does not follow a precise stylis-
tic plan but offers diversified options in order to reach users who
are very different in age, social class, gender and ethnicity.
Another of the peculiarities of the platform is the uploading
of complete series, which are not presented episode by episode,
as in the TV schedule, but fully accessible online. To encourage
the consecutive vision of several episodes, Netflix uses what Pao-
la Brembilla (2018) calls “playlist effect” (p. 54): the episodes of a
series flow one after the other without interruption, like a contin-
uous flow, unless the user voluntarily stops them (Castro, Rigby,
Cabral & Nisi, 2019, p. 2). In this way, one of the key elements of
the entertainment industry falls: controlled dissatisfaction, that is
to say, the act of inducing the viewer to wait for the next episode,
creating the desire to conclude a strategically interrupted narrative
(Hass, 2013). With regard to the fruition of Netflix products, one
of the most common and studied phenomena is binge-watching,
which consists in the vision of a significant number of episodes
(usually from 2 to 6) of a TV series, without interruptions: a sort
of filmic marathon in which the user dives into the narration,
with an average view-time that goes from 2 to 3 hours (Brembilla,
2018, p. 52; Castro, Rigby, Cabral & Nisi, 2019, p. 16; Innocenti
& Pescatore, 2014, p. 3). Actually, this trend had already been
widespread in the 1990s, but it has been recently encouraged by
platforms such as Netflix, which stimulate and normalize this
kind of vision through some strategies, such as the uploading of
whole TV series, without whose presence this phenomenon

Young adults and TV series 302
would not be possible. What increases the practice of binge-
watching is also the accessibility of the products through a mod-
est payment in comparison to the purchase of television series’
boxes. Besides, since Netflix can be used through different
means, such as televisions, tablets, mobile phones, and comput-
ers, the practice can be easily carried out in very different con-
texts: anytime and anywhere (Brembilla, 2018, p. 53).
In 2013, Netflix commissioned an investigation to understand
the way its viewers use the platform, employing a sample of 3,078
members of various ages. Of the subscribers, 61% claimed to use
the platform at least once a week; 73% reported a positive per-
ception of the practice of binge-watching, while 79% believed
that this phenomenon made TV series more enjoyable than
watching single episodes (Brembilla, 2018, p. 54). Looking at the
reasons that lead viewers to this practice, binge-watching usually
takes place at the end of the day or during the weekend to relax
and have fun, as well as sharing the selected shows with peers,
thereby enhancing social belonging and inclusion in a particular
group. This phenomenon is not entirely intentional – 45% of the
spectators say they spend more time than expected watching TV
series or Netflix products (Brembilla, 2018, p. 54) – due to a great
involvement with the narrative proposed, that is usually able to
engage the viewer in a different, alternative world, just as leisure
literature does, although with very different modes and effects
(Castro, Rigby, Cabral & Nisi, 2019, p. 6).
3. TV series, teenagers and young adults
For what concerns the consumption of Netflix products by a
young audience, the platform offers diversified content for both
children and adolescents. Watching a high number of consecutive
episodes is very common also at a young age. This practice allows
boys and girls to get in close contact with new narrative universes
that need to be critically considered, in view of a new media edu-
cation (Antoniazzi, 2015; Cambi, 2010; Di Bari, 2017). In fact,

Young adults and TV series 303
platforms such as Netflix provide products for young viewers
with the intention of captivating new generations, and they do it
trying to meet their habits and demands (Matrix, 2014, p. 122).
For this reason, in 2013 Netflix signed a contract with Dream-
Works to further expand its catalogue and to produce 300 hours
of entertainment for boys and girls. These audio-visual works are
displayed through different devices, such as televisions, tablets,
mobile phones. Multiple devices are often used simultaneously:
watching a series on TV and chatting with friends to talk about it
or searching for information on social networks is a very deep-
rooted tendency (Matrix, 2014, p. 123).
When linked to adolescence, binge-watching often generates
debates about its negative effect on young people, both in terms
of how it is experienced (often an excessive number of hours, in-
cluding late-night hours), its content (sometimes violent or sex-
related), and its consequences on social and school life (binge-
watching is often associated with inactivity and isolation), drawing
on what Sidneyeve Matrix (2014) calls the «rhetoric of moral me-
dia panic» (p. 124). These effects – which are potentially harmful
even for an adult audience that is not particularly critical – should
be considered in depth so as not to attack and demonize the me-
dium itself, but the unaware use that new generations might make
of it. This is a very broad issue that could also apply to new media
such as video games or apps, which are often discussed from
apocalyptic and integrated perspectives without mediations.
Hence, from an educational point of view, the acknowledgment
and comprehension of these new media, their modes of use, and
the issues they deal with are fundamental starting points. In this
way, we can better understand how to mediate the relationship
between adolescents and media products.
The investigations reported by Matrix on the subject show
that American teenagers and young adults decided to openly talk
about their relationship with Netflix and the reasons why it is
now preferred over television. Among the main reasons for
spending many hours on the streaming platform, first and fore-
most the interviewees recall the desire to be part of society and,

Young adults and TV series 304
in particular, of the peer group. Watching television series be-
comes a vehicle to connect with friends and peers, a source of di-
alogue, exchange, participation. Binge-watching is therefore in-
terpreted as an attempt not to isolate themselves, but to keep up
with others, to catch up with episodes and to participate in a di-
rect discussion, avoiding spoilers (Matrix, 2014, p. 127).
A second reason emerges: the desire to relax and to fully ex-
perience a different universe. If handled correctly, the use of the
platform can lead to the fruition of engaging stories, dense with
meaning and food for thought, stories that are capable of seizing
the anxieties of adolescence and post-adolescence, representing
the diverse nuances of identity. In this respect, Netflix offers in-
teresting and complex original productions from a narrative and
filmic point of view. These narrations, however, should be cau-
tiously mediated as they act in a wide panorama that includes not
only outstanding products. Therefore, it is necessary to train a
critical eye that can appreciate, compare and distinguish quality
works (whether they are narrated by literature, cinema or other
artistic forms), so as to consciously move in a wide range of pro-
ductions (Cambi, 2010; Di Bari, 2013).
4. The teen drama and some of its narrative strands
Among the areas covered by Netflix, the teen drama stands
out for being intentionally directed to an audience of teenagers
and young adults. This narrative genre was developed in the
1990s in England and in the United States, and it usually deals
with the life stories of young protagonists who have to face the
difficulties of growing up and find their way (Barone, 2009). The-
se narratives explore topics such as friendship, love, sexuality,
family relationships, violence, bullying. The storytelling is charac-
terized by insecurities, trauma, aspirations, and all of these ele-
ments constitute a genre that deliberately maintains a realistic per-
spective, tackling contemporary social issues even in those series
that recall the canons of the fantastic (Feasey, 2009, p. 431).

Young adults and TV series 305
Therefore, teenagers can find in these stories the same feelings,
the same anguish, the same doubts felt in everyday life: these nar-
ratives allow them to give meaning to their existence (Moseley,
2001). However, the representation of adolescence in television
series tends to be influenced by the life ideal sought by young
viewers: sometimes, the characters are portrayed as extremely
free, unrestricted, but at the same time far from adult responsibil-
ities, besides being stereotypical in many cases (Raya, Sanchez-
Labella & Duràn, 2018, p. 134). Although these works are mainly
addressed to teenagers, as the adolescent phase is extending to an
older age, these products are now enjoyed and appreciated also
by young adults in their twenties and thirties. As a result, they are
targeted TV series whose boundaries are particularly wide as they
are often capable of involving a diverse range of users (Feasey,
2009, p. 431).
The subgenres of the teen drama are manifold, but the pre-
sent study identifies four particularly common narrative strands
that characterize the Netflix platform on a quantitative and quali-
tative level: the teen thriller; the educational series; the supernatu-
ral series; and the revival. Building on the aforementioned adoles-
cent themes, these subgenres use children and young adults’ liter-
ature’s typical thematic and structural expedients in order to nar-
rate common life experiences, albeit intertwined with fictional el-
ements, as analysed in the following paragraphs.
4.1. The teen thriller
Today, many of the works proposed to teenagers rely on the
thriller genre to captivate viewers through investigation stories.
However, the typical elements of the detective story are mixed
with teenage turmoil: on the one hand, we find murders to be
unveiled, on the other, we meet love, friendships, desires, fears.
Two works can give a good example of this category: 13 Reasons
Why (2017) and Riverdale (2017).
13 Reasons Why is one of the most appreciated and popular
original Netflix products, and not only among teenagers and

Young adults and TV series 306
young adults. The series has caused an uproar for the controver-
sial theme it presents: Hannah Baker, a high school student and
narrator of the story, commits suicide by leaving thirteen tapes
she recorded, in which she explains the reasons behind her dra-
matic gesture. Each tape tells how a different peer pushed her to
exasperation, until her last, tragic decision was made. Clay Jensen,
a boy in love with Hannah, decides to inquire into the matter,
creating a narrative full of mystery. The work detaches itself from
the lightness of the teen drama both for its dark tones and for its
narrative and thematic depth: 13 Reasons Why deals with themes
such as bullying, violence, rape, depression, connecting these is-
sues to the adolescent world, yet not sweetening or simplifying
them. Even though the epilogue is already known, the spectator
is overwhelmed by the emotional depth of the work, by its sus-
pense, by the harshness of the events, by the tenderness of the
impossible love-story between the two protagonists.
Riverdale is a tv-series set in the homonymous and fictitious
town, where a boy called Jason is murdered. This mystery must
be solved by four young protagonists (Archie, Veronica, Jugheade
and Betty). This initial event is intersected with secondary stories,
usually concluded in a single episode. The work is influenced by
the thriller and noir genre as it offers a mysterious and frenetic
narration that covers themes commonly related to adolescence.
Among the sources of inspiration, Riverdale refers to cinema and
literature: firstly, the work deliberately follows some of the ele-
ments of the famous TV series by David Lynch, Twin Peaks
(1990), though it does not reach its aesthetic and narrative ele-
gance; secondly, Riverdale is inspired by the series of comics for
teenagers published by Archie Comics, which was particularly
popular in the 1940s. Thus, this work draws on various sources
of popular culture to offer a new product, specially packaged for
teenagers, and thereby follows the typical dreams and fears of this
phase of life.

Young adults and TV series 307
4.2. Educational series
A large number of TV series that fall within the macro sector
of teen drama deal with education, growth, and those transfor-
mations that lead to adulthood. This is a recurring theme in sev-
eral narrative genres of this sector, but it is particularly important
in some works specifically designed to represent some particular
contexts of personal growth. Here, two very different cases are
briefly exposed: Atypical (2017) and Sex Education (2019).
Atypical tells the story of Sam, a boy with a high-functioning
autism spectrum disorder. The series associates the theme of au-
tism with the most common adolescent dynamics: Sam has some
difficulties in relating to others, but his world appears identical to
the world of his peers: filled with fears, dreams, expectations. The
work is an enjoyable product of great depth, that intersects the
stories of all the people close to Sam, from his friend Zahid, ec-
centric and unconventional, to his sister Casey, up to the boy’s
parents, portrayed in the middle of a conjugal crisis. Hence, the
story outlines not only the protagonist’s experiences, but also the
family dynamics that stand behind him, so as to make viewers
understand the value of family relationships, a historically pivotal
theme in children’s literature (Trisicuzzi, 2019). So, the series of-
fers a wide and in some ways choral perspective, mainly focused
on the emotions felt by the protagonist and on his training and
personal growth towards adulthood.
Sex Education (2019) proposes a different kind of formation,
namely the one concerning the sphere of sexual and affective ed-
ucation. Otis, the protagonist, is an outcast boy, son of a well-
known sexologist. Since he is in close contact with his mother’s
job, the seventeen-year-old boy decides to help his classmates re-
solve doubts and fears on the subject. The series deals with a top-
ic that is often considered taboo, but wisely calibrates it: the show
does not present a disproportionate romanticization and sacrality
of the sexual sphere, but neither focuses on excesses or idealiza-
tions that could distort the viewer’s perception of reality. The
protagonists approach the subject with curiosity, fear, and hope

Young adults and TV series 308
and embark on a journey of discovery of their own body and of
the corporality of others; a journey guided by respect and critical
understanding, albeit within the lightness of the product.
4.3. The supernatural
The supernatural strand interweaves the adolescent question
with magical, paranormal events, often presented through the use
of dark tones. In this way, viewers can see themselves portrayed
through the fictional depiction of the adolescent characters,
which offers realistic social and relational dynamics while intro-
ducing the users to fantastic, out-of-normal scenarios (Grandi,
2007). For example, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018) follows
the Nineties sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch but reinterprets it in
a “horror” perspective. Sabrina is a 16-year-old girl who lives with
two witches (her aunts, Hilma and Zelda), and has a love story
with a boy, Harvey. The protagonist is half-witch and half-
human: a condition that will lead her to seek a balance in the lim-
inal area to which she belongs. On the one hand, she finds the
life of a witch, with dark colours and disturbing rituals; on the
other, she experiences a normal life as a teenager, in her college,
with her friends and her boyfriend. However, Sabrina does not
want to choose between these two “sides”, as the two aunts
would like her to do. Sabrina is a female character who decon-
structs gender schema, who proposes a new gendered approach
made of rebellion, of struggle to conquer her own space in the
world, to assert her identity, breaking the silence and passivity
that has historically characterized the female world (Dello Preite,
2019; Ulivieri, 2015).
Stranger Things (2016), on the other hand, evokes a nostalgic
approach, for example opening with a direct tribute to Steven
Spielberg’s film E.T. (1982). Stranger Things is a series whose at-
mosphere recalls the Eighties and for this reason it allows differ-
ent age groups to identify with the characters, to get lost in the
fantastic tones of the narrative. Will, one of the protagonists, dis-
appears on the very same night when in a scientific laboratory the

Young adults and TV series 309
border between our dimension and another is “broken”. Stranger
Things follows three narrative paths, linked to three different gen-
erations: pre-adolescents, frightened by Will’s disappearance and
willing to accept paranormal explanations; adolescents, represent-
ed through love plots and issues which are typical of this age; and
adults, who try to carry on investigations to understand what
happened to Will.
4.4. Revivals
Many TV series draw on nostalgia to attract a large number of
viewers by paying homage to series, novels, films from the past,
reinterpreted in a modern key or “referenced” in new contexts.
The last few years have been characterized by great revivals of old
popular series, re-proposed just as they were to address young
and older viewers. As Brembilla notes, online media libraries are
not only a showcase for new products but also aim to be a sort of
archive that can offer old serial productions, that are already con-
cluded and well known, to a nostalgic audience. Brembilla sug-
gests two categories: rescue shows and revivals (Brembilla, 2018,
pp. 61-62). In the first case, these TV series were cancelled from
the programming, but re-proposed and relaunched on platforms
such as Netflix. These products do not generate large profits, but
enrich the catalogue and attract a new audience. The second cate-
gory, revivals, works on a new form of popular TV series, rea-
wakening their potential through a product that is repackaged for
contemporary audiences. For example, popularly acclaimed series
such as Gilmore Girls (2000) or Gossip Girl (2007) have been re-
proposed and they are still able to capture a notable audience and
to develop themes and issues that have not gone out of fashion,
such as family and friendship bonds.
5. Final note
The world of TV series, here analysed through the case study
of Netflix platform, is nowadays particularly multifaceted and is

Young adults and TV series 310
characterized by great media, social, and educational significance.
Because of its recent development and popularity, it is necessary
to explore this field to understand which narrative products are
accessed by different age groups and, consequently, which stories
involve and educate them indirectly, both to an aesthetic taste
and to deal with the society they will meet and build as adults. In
fact, these products hide limits and potentialities: on the one
hand, their fruition is often uncontrolled, lacking a conscious me-
diation both in regards to the way they are viewed and to the
themes exposed; on the other hand, this medium, when handled
correctly and consciously, can provide stories with great filmic
depth that could guide the viewers through contemporary issues,
close to the teenage experience.
Because of the coexistence of these different elements, TV se-
ries, and specifically teen dramas, require an educational approach
that stimulates a critical and active perception of the medium, es-
pecially with regard to a young audience, that should be able to
find some interpretative tools to understand in depth what is of-
fered by the platform. Although these products are often ignored
by adults as they are considered part of the mass-media culture,
and therefore secondary, informal educational tools, it is worth
investigating those narratives proposed by Netflix to a young au-
dience in order to understand how they indirectly but constantly
affect young adults’ social and cultural perception, without un-
derestimating the power of storytelling, whatever medium it uses
to unravel.
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