"Years ago, television and film were separate industries, particularly in America and Hollywood. Somehow, filmmakers considered it a discredit to make series because they considered them a lesser genre. This is no longer the case because they see that they can make quality products for television, since they are long shoots that involve a lot of effort". This was stated by Robin Nelson, director of research at the University of London, on the occasion of the international meeting 'Identity and emotions in contemporary television series', which celebrates the project 'Emotional culture and identity' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra, sponsored by Seguros Zurich.

For Professor Nelson, the supremacy of films is no longer so clear: "Series and films are valued equally. And, in terms of audience, television has more viewers than film: there is no doubt that the weight of the former in culture is very great".

Responding to viewers' concerns

Regarding the 'ingredients' of successful series, Robin Nelson insists that the status must be interesting and the characters engaging. "Narrative is not as important as it used to be. It's more important that the series echoes issues of contemporary life related to people's real concerns, such as family, gender, politics, citizen security...", he points out.

For his part, Kyle William Bishop, professor at Southern Utah University (USA), focused on the fame of series in which the characters are on the borderline between good and evil, such as zombies. "We see series that are the result of massive interest, and now many people are concerned with the idea of the struggle for survival, making difficult decisions...", he explained.

Robin Nelson and Kyle William Bishop are two of the 30 experts from the UK, Germany, Denmark, USA, Belgium and Spain participating in the meeting organized by the project 'Emotional culture and identity' of the ICS. Among other topics, they have addressed the rise of the antihero, the role of women in series, metaphors and anthropology in The Walking Dead, and love, fear and desire in horror series.