%0 Journal Article %T The Previous Season’s Recap: Short History of the TV Series %A Racięski, Bolesław %J Media Research Issues %V 2016 %R 10.4467/2299-6362PZ.16.002.5179 %N Volume 59, Issue 1 (225) %P 16-31 %K history of television, American tv series, English tv series, serial narrative, technology, social change %@ 0555-0025 %D 2016 %U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/zeszyty-prasoznawcze/article/w-poprzednim-sezonie-krotka-historia-amerykanskiego-serialu-telewizyjnego %X The Previous Season’s Recap: Short History of the TV Series The article depicts the essential issues related to the development television series from the fifties to the nineties of the twentieth century, with the particular focus on the American media production. The first part of the article illustrates the beginnings of serial narrative: serialized novels and silent film serials. The following sections relate to, among others: reshaping of a situation comedy, the transformation of episodic series into continuing serials and conditions for the creation of quality television dramas and propagating experimental narratives. The article depicts the textual changes of the tv series, as well as their social and technological contexts.