Collecting several new essays from scholars around the globe, this collection seeks to participate in the ongoing discourse about Netflix's place in contemporary culture. These contributors explore the intricacies of the enormous effect Netflix has had on how we consume popular media in the everyday world and examines the streaming giant as a disruptor and cultural institution, as a producer and distributor, and as a narrowcaster and global player.

This collection of new essays focuses on The CW network's hit television series Arrow - based on DC Comic's Green Arrow - and its spin-offs The Flash, DC's Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. Comic book adaptations have been big business for film studios since Superman (1978) and in recent years have dominated at the box office - five of the 11 highest grossing films of 2016 were adapted from comics. Superheroes have battled across the small screen for considerably longer, beginning with The Adventures of Superman (1952-1958), though with mixed success. The contributors explore the reasons behind Arrow's success, the series' representation of bodies, its portrayal of women, its shifting political ideologies, and audience reception and influence on storylines.

One of the first full-length academic projects on the television series Smallville, this collection of new essays explains why the WB/CW series is important to understanding contemporary popular culture. The essays are presented in four sections covering broad categories: Clark's metamorphosis to Superman and the influence of his parents and the home; the role of the series' noteworthy female characters; the series' representations of the Other, explorations of identity, and the ways in which characters speak to Clark's own struggles; and audience reception of the series and its position within the Superman narrative universe.