Play next episode: Moments of pause in television consumption and production

The experience of viewing television has since its earliest days been inherently connected to the notion of pause. For narrative drama in particular, the industrial figuring of pause through distribution scheduling continues to inform television consumption practices, which in turn influence (and are influenced by) production elements such as narrative structure and genre paradigms. This paper explores the interplay of these consumption and production practices through a comparative analysis of two case studies on rival subscription video on demand (SVOD) services – Netflix Original series Stranger Things (2016-) distributed in full-season drops for audiences to binge; and Marvel Cinematic Universe limited series, WandaVision (2021), released via weekly intervals through Disney + . Discussing these contrasting distribution and consumption models as reflecting the broader continuity and adaptation of television's technological and industrial practices, the paper explores their impact on production elements such as narrative structure and genre, as well as on the body of the viewer who, when consuming content without pause, is engaged in a ‘durative’ viewing experience. Finally, the paper turns to the use of subjective flashbacks that work to either foreground or elide moments of pause within the diegetic action. These flashbacks, which I term ‘reflective’ and ‘embodied’ respectively, not only echo the contrasting consumption models adopted by SVOD services but also recall the resulting bodily impact on the viewer when pause is invited or omitted. In closing, the paper suggests that pause can be used as a lens to view the simultaneous continuity and adaptation within television consumption and production practices over time.