PWR 1AGA: The Rhetoric of TV Criticism

What is television? A technological medium? A cultural form? An assortment of audiovisual texts? All three, and more? In October 2025, journalist Derek Thompson argued that digital media was converging, and that it was all “turning into television,” resulting in “one thing: the continuous flow of episodic video.” Given its ubiquity, we must consider one of television’s essential modes: the series. Across scenes, episodes, and seasons, viewers worldwide follow storylines in a multitude of fictional worlds. Comedies and dramas alike encourage and reward continual involvement, whether that is rewatching classics such as Star Trek and The Office with family and friends, indulging in two-day binges of the newest Black Mirror, or committing to multi-year waits between seasons, as with Severance and Andor. After getting to know specific characters, there’s a familiarity that develops over time for dedicated audiences. People care, and they often want to watch more. Television shows not only amuse, soothe, and excite viewers, but also bore, frustrate, and disappoint them, depending on what’s happening onscreen, from intense shockers such as Squid Game and The Last of Us to satirical social critiques such as The White Lotus and Succession.

In this writing and research course, you’ll choose one narrative television series for your research project. With this in-depth study, you’ll develop skills in descriptive and analytical writing, informed your engagement with academic frameworks and arguments. Television criticism provides insightful perspectives on the plots, settings, genres, themes, and meanings of specific shows, as well as ways to conceptualize various creative, industrial, and technological practices across broadcast television, cable television, and streaming platforms.  Research topics focusing on one series could include an examination of: narrative structure; adaptation; symbolism; ideology and politics; series finales; stars and celebrity; fan cultures; genre hybridity; show runners-as-authors; remakes, reboots, and spinoffs; viewing practices; critical reception.

PWR 1 Assignment Sequence

Rhetorical Assignment

(1200-1500 words: 4-5 pages): With the RA you’ll analyze a longform written or video analysis of the TV series you plan to work on for the course. You’ll consider how the writer makes an argument about this series, and why they make the argument the way they do. This assignment is designed to introduce you to strategies writers employ in their argumentation, and the complexities of rhetorical situations.

Texts in Conversation

(1800-2400 words; 6-8 pages): With the TIC assignment, focusing on your selected TV series, you’ll compare and contrast academic texts with one another. Depending on the series and the direction of your research, these texts could directly focus on your series, or engage with concepts and theories you’ll be using in your research project. This assignment primes you for the research-based argument (RBA), as you will carry the work forward from this essay into your RBA. You’ll examine how different writers make their arguments, scrutinizing where the writers overlap and where they diverge. The TIC assignment will enable you to develop your understanding and practice of research, establishing a foundation for your work in the RBA assignment.

Research-Based Argument

(3000-3600 words; 10-12 pages): With the RBA assignment, you will present a research-based argument informed by the conversation you mapped in the TIC. Continuing with your focus on your selected television series, the RBA will feature a sustained, close analysis on one representative episode, and present an argument about specific aspects of the series.