Fans, Plans, and the Connection Between the Two

With the convergence of the internet and television a new dimension has been added when it comes to consuming media. Actively participating in the shows that you are watching is becoming routine in daily lives. Trends like Bravo's PlayLive feature, The Bachelors' Superfan program, and even Glee's Gleek following have opened new doors to the activity of TV watching. Chapter 4 of Spreadable Media highlights these trends and explains how they can help and hurt the television industry.

The Glee Project, a show that premiered 2 summers ago, has become a Glee landmark. The show is a talent competition that ultimately awards the winner with a guest starring role on Glee. Throughout the process the contenders are challenged on various personality aspects Glee characters are expected to have, coached by Glee's own stars, and mentored by the Glee crew (producers, writers, choreographers). Not only did this become a phenomena because of the success the show had on it's own right but the Glee, the show for the outcasts, was now open to starring the outcasts who made it a hit. Fans could literally watch the next season of Glee's characters being shaped and molded into the person that would be coming into their home on Tuesday nights. You can't get any more "The People's Show" than that. Signature Glee moments like getting slushied and wearing a cheerio's uniform were incorporated into the competition which produced weekly music videos and showed the world how real the Glee family is to those who watch it. 

Even cast and crew members of various shows that have social media accounts like, Twitter, enhance the fan experience. Grey's Anatomy has been around for 10 seasons and the fans that watch the show are thoroughly committed. Shonda Rhimes, GA writer, takes to her twitter daily to tweet about upcoming episodes and table reads to keep the spark for Thursday to Thursday alive.

Dr. Meredith Grey Twitter

Shonda Rhimes' Twitter

These tools allow viewers' relationship with their show to extend beyond the TV into everyday life. Even having character Twitter accounts that can be updated multiple times in a day can blur the line between reality and fiction which is what makes fandom so addicting. It's an alternate vacation; a virtual vacation. The escape has extended past 42 minutes one day of the week. 

With TV shows extending beyond the screen, and fans becoming more hands on, reality TV is becoming more of a trend. Shows like Big Brother and The Glass House allowed viewers to dictate the plot line of the show. All production was in charge of is making sure there were people to manipulate and cameras to film. 

The Glass House allowed viewers to make the rules of the game and play along with their favorite contestants. Contestants and viewers could communicate through secret messages and inside jokes in front of other contestants allowing for them to play mind games or develop and encoded strategy to push them closer to the end goal. Viewers could dictate daily activities, what appliances in the house worked, what contestants ate, and even who they roomed with. Viewers also played the role of eliminator and had the ability to bring previously eliminated contestants back to the house. What this allowed for was a close relationship between the show and the viewer but when the show went against a viewer's choices, backlash was rampant and deserved. When a show advertises that YOU are in control, you expect to receive that power in full. When the line between reality and fiction gets blurred so does your rationale.