Russian TV Series in the Era of Transition

“Thanks to the editorial efforts of Alexander Prokhorov, Elena Prokhorova, and Rimgaila Salys, students and scholars now have access to some of the most incisive and pertinent essays on the subject to date. … As television and media studies continue to gain prominence in the REEES field, Russian TV Series in the Era of Transition will prove to be a foundational text. Its broad range of topics, insightful analyses, and useful supplementary materials successfully address gaps in the existing scholarship, while its accessible tone is sure to attract broad audiences among scholars and non-scholars alike.”

— Graham Weaver, The Jordan Center Blog

“Russian TV Series is a welcome addition to a scanty bibliography. A handsomely produced book with many color stills, this edited collection consists of a brief introduction, nine essays, and five interviews with prominent figures in Russian television. (...) All the essays are well executed… [R]eaders interested in television will certainly benefit from the detailed synopses of these programs and the research leads related to production and reception that can be found in the articles’ footnotes.

Russian TV Series’ most valuable contribution to television studies scholarship may, however, turn out to be the five short interviews with producers and showrunners Alexander Dulerain, Sergei Fiks and Maksim Stishov and script writers Denis Gorelov and Nataliia Meshchaninova that conclude the volume. The interviewees speak with relative candor about their difficulties navigating Russian cultural politics and their hopes for a future that would include greater collaboration with their counterparts in Europe, hopes that strike me as deeply poignant in the present context.”

— Denise J. Youngblood, University of Vermont, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

“Edited by three established scholars of Russian cinema and television, this useful collection includes a brief introduction by the editors, nine articles, and five interviews with producers, screenwriters, and directors active in Russian Television in recent years. College students and teachers of contemporary Russian media will find it an informative and useful introduction to the subject. … The authors of the nine essays approach this impossibly large subject from diverse and complementary angles: some concentrate on individual series or auteurs, while others focus on historical and/or sociological themes, sexuality, and technology. The thread which holds the articles together… is their authors’ belief that Russian television series can provide a privileged view into Russian society and culture.”

— Anthony Anemone, The New School, Russian Review (October 2022: Vol. 81, No. 4)

“Renowned scholars of Soviet and Russian television Alexander Prokhorov, Elena Prokhorova, and Rimgaila Salys have edited a multifaceted collection that explores continuities and changes of post-Soviet television since 2000. Based on a genre approach, the introduction and nine articles focus on various formats like quality television drama, low-budget web television mini-series, or the channel Kul΄'tura (Culture). They analyze gender, issues of cultural memory, formats bridging traditional legacy TV and internet-based platforms, as well as the consequences of shifting political and economic power structures. Five short interviews with Russian producers, directors, and screenwriters complement the edition. They may become interesting sources for future research.”

— Kirsten Bönker, Slavic Review

“Comprising nine essays-contributions from the field’s leading scholars-the collection delves into the multiplicity of genres, narratives and characters that have figured on Russian television over the past two decades. Complete with a selection of interviews with industry professionals, Russian TV Series in the Era of Transition offers a comprehensive overview of changes and continuities that have characterised the production and distribution of serialised fiction in Putin’s Russia… Russian TV Series in the Era of Transition remains a pertinent contribution to the discourse surrounding the evolution of Russian television in the twenty-first century, making it essential reading for scholars and enthusiasts alike.”

— Sofiia Dabizha, Alphaville