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Author:   Sage Westfall ,  Owen Cantrell
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Imprint:   Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:   Width: 15.80cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.500kg
ISBN:  

9781666968606

ISBN 10:   1666968609
Pages:   256
Publication Date:   11 June 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Introduction: “Better Today Than They Were Yesterday”: Playing Nice in Nicecore TV Owen Cantrell (Georgia State University, USA) & Sage Westfall (Independent Scholar, USA) PART I: Gender and Niceness 1. Reimagining Niceness: The Role of Indian Television Soap Operas in Perpetuating Traditional Gender Norms Sony Jalarajan Raj (MacEwan University, Canada) & Adith K. Suresh (MacEwan University, Canada) 2. “'Hey, takin' ona challenge is a lot like ridin' a horse”: Ted Lasso and Left-Populism Colleen Tripp (California State University-Northridge, USA) 3. In the Matter of Ronald Gladden vs. James Marsden: Nicecore Guys Finish First in Freevee's Jury Duty Emily Hoffman (Arkansas Tech University, USA) 4. Just a Small Town Girl: Hallmark Movie Small Towns and the Politics of Niceness Andrea Braithwaite (Ontario Tech University, Canada) PART II: Nicecore TV Roster 5. “Just your typical all-American, Catholic, divorcing, disgraced, lawbreaking, gay family”: Nicely Queering the Sitcom with ABC’s The Real O’Neals Francesca Petronio (Stony Brook University, USA) 6. You’re Simply the Best: Character Growth and Making the Unlikable Likable in Schitt’s Creek Colleen Etman (University of South Carolina, USA) 7. ""Real and alive and good”: Nicecore Conventions in The Bear Judith Clemens-Smucker (Sam Houston State University, USA) PART III: New Sincerity and Irony 8. Joe Pera Talks with You and the Post-Ironic Comfort Watch Sage Westfall 9. “Do You Want to Feel Something Real?” Sincere Irony in the Work of Nathan Fielder Owen Cantrell 10. “More than just ball hairs”: (Post-)Irony, Sincerity, and Digitization Netflix’s American Vandal Dominik Steinhilber (University of Konstanz, Germany) About the Editors and Contributors Index

Reviews

There is something profound and interesting happening on television today. Creators and audiences are both using the medium to do and to be more, constructing elaborate fictions and pointing to complicated realities in ways that are overwhelming in their absurdity and in their earnestness. It can feel strange, fraught, or contradictory, even as we laugh at what we see and enjoy how preposterous it all is. This excellent collection confronts all this and more, offering compelling analyses of a bevy of spectacular shows and offering challenging insights into the ways these programs offer profound connections to audiences and craft unique entertainment experiences in one of the most traditional media forms. * Zachary Sheldon, Lecturer in Film & Digital Media, Baylor University, USA *

There is something profound and interesting happening on television today. Creators and audiences are both using the medium to do and to be more, constructing elaborate fictions and pointing to complicated realities in ways that are overwhelming in their absurdity and in their earnestness. It can feel strange, fraught, or contradictory, even as we laugh at what we see and enjoy how preposterous it all is. This excellent collection confronts all this and more, offering compelling analyses of a bevy of spectacular shows and offering challenging insights into the ways these programs offer profound connections to audiences and craft unique entertainment experiences in one of the most traditional media forms. * Zachary Sheldon, Lecturer in Film & Digital Media, Baylor University, USA * In this illuminating and insightful collection, Owen Cantrell and Sage Westfall have brought together a series of essays that open up important new angles, questions, and ways of thinking about the recent trend of ""nicecore"" television. While often written off as mere ""comfort"" viewing or escapist fantasy, the contributors to this collection reveal that such series in fact reflect many important trends and shifts taking place in the wider culture. For this reason, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the aesthetic and political dimensions of contemporary television. * Lucas Thompson, Senior Lecturer in English & Writing, University of Sydney, Australia *

Author Information

Sage Westfall is a writer, researcher, and teacher based in Washington state, USA. Owen Cantrell is Associate Professor of English at Perimeter College, Georgia State University, USA.

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