CFP: Television Comedy Representations of Adult Children and Their Parents: Making Humour from Intergenerational Conflict in English Language Programming.

Family dynamics have long been an area of comic consideration (Mills 2009, Pugh 2018, White 2018). From the evocation of the mother-in-law on the live Working Men’s Club circuit (Double 2014), to the depiction of the nuclear family unit in traditional sitcoms from the 1950s onwards (Jones 1992), the interpersonal tensions of how we get along with our nearest and dearest have become a recurrent feature.

With the continued rise of women-centred television comedy series (Swink 2017, Minor 2021) we have seen parental roles take on a new significance. Shifting understandings of feminism have contributed to conflicts between generations of women, (depicted in the uneasy mother/ daughter relationships of Motherland [2016-2022], Colin From Accounts [2022], Alma’s Not Normal [2020-], Feel Good [2020-2021], Ted Lasso [2020-2023], The Good Place [2016-2020]), as well as a renegotiation of men’s position in the home, (evidenced by fathers side-lined by dominant women in the everyday routines of family life in Derry Girls [2018-2021], or absent in Man Like Mobeen [2016-], Big Boys [2022-], This Way Up [2019-]). As such we are interested in the way parents are represented in comedy programming from the perspective of their Gen X, Gen Y (millennial), and Gen Z children.

Gender roles and behaviours have changed significantly between generations and how these tensions are explored and ridiculed within a comic framework will form the focus of the proposed volume. We invite proposals for chapters on television comedy that addresses or portrays any of the following…. (note we are also open to suggestions of new connected directions that might be of interest to contributing authors).

●      Mother/Daughter dynamics

●      Fathers (present and absent)

●      Shifting cultural dynamics (immigrant parents, LGBTQ* child/ parent relationships, religious practice)

●      Step-parents – beyond the wicked stepmother.

●      Parental relationships in semi-autobiographical sitcoms

●      Intergenerational conflict around child raising/ care

●      Secret families/children

We are particularly interested in examination of texts that represent Black and global majority experiences. We are also particularly keen to include chapters that focus on the following shows: Almas Not Normal, Big Boys, Motherland, Sex Education (2019-2023).

Note that we already have chapters on the following texts: We Are Lady Parts (2021-present), Citizen Khan (2012-2016), Modern Family (2010-2020), Ted Lasso (2020-2023), Man Like Mobeen (2017- present), Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020), Bad Sisters (2022-present), Brooklyn Nine Nine, Colin From Accounts (2022-ongoing), Banana (2015).

We are intending to publish with Palgrave Studies in Comedy who are on board with the project (subject to positive peer review).

Please provide a brief (300 word max) abstract and short biography (100 word max) in a word document by Monday 6th January 2025 to ellie.tomsett@bcu.ac.uk and hazel.collie@bcu.ac.uk . All authors will hear back about their abstract by Monday 20th January 2025.

We appreciate that information about the whole project timeframe is necessary for colleagues to assess whether a project is possible. Once commissioned (estimated early 2025) we would be looking to have a 10-12month period within which chapters would be completed before entering into the editing process. Our intended publication window is autumn/winter 2026.