When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction
This article aims to understand the impact of subscription video-on-demand commissions on locally produced content in Latin America’s smaller markets. It focuses on the case of 42 Days of Darkness (2022), the first Netflix Original in Chile produced without the participation of local broadcast chann...
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Cogitatio
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Media and Communication |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9586 |
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| author | Consuelo Ábalos |
| author_facet | Consuelo Ábalos |
| author_sort | Consuelo Ábalos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article aims to understand the impact of subscription video-on-demand commissions on locally produced content in Latin America’s smaller markets. It focuses on the case of 42 Days of Darkness (2022), the first Netflix Original in Chile produced without the participation of local broadcast channels nor with contributions from state funds. Through a contextualized textual analysis of the series, focusing on Netflix’s strategic approach to national/global production, a shift has been identified in both the look and practice of national TV series programming with this new stakeholder. Although the local industry has already ventured into the detective genre based on local crimes, Netflix’s first production in Chile adopted narratives and visual motifs congruent with melancholic elements of Nordic noir. We conclude that one of Netflix’s main strategies in this project was to embrace the global popularity of the Scandinavian genre’s aesthetics while maintaining elements of Latin American melodrama, a predominant genre in the region, in order to appeal to local audiences, creating content with a negotiated, “glocal” appeal. The participation of subscription video-on-demand giants in small industries such as Chile could help to create captivating TV series and energize the local audiovisual production industry. However, it might lead to the homogenization of content and the erasure of cultural specificity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ad993bb5c35f46d79da049cb5d53b14b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
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| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj-art-ad993bb5c35f46d79da049cb5d53b14b2025-08-20T02:15:52ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392025-04-0113010.17645/mac.95864105When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV FictionConsuelo Ábalos0Department of Communication, Pontificia Universidad Católica, ChileThis article aims to understand the impact of subscription video-on-demand commissions on locally produced content in Latin America’s smaller markets. It focuses on the case of 42 Days of Darkness (2022), the first Netflix Original in Chile produced without the participation of local broadcast channels nor with contributions from state funds. Through a contextualized textual analysis of the series, focusing on Netflix’s strategic approach to national/global production, a shift has been identified in both the look and practice of national TV series programming with this new stakeholder. Although the local industry has already ventured into the detective genre based on local crimes, Netflix’s first production in Chile adopted narratives and visual motifs congruent with melancholic elements of Nordic noir. We conclude that one of Netflix’s main strategies in this project was to embrace the global popularity of the Scandinavian genre’s aesthetics while maintaining elements of Latin American melodrama, a predominant genre in the region, in order to appeal to local audiences, creating content with a negotiated, “glocal” appeal. The participation of subscription video-on-demand giants in small industries such as Chile could help to create captivating TV series and energize the local audiovisual production industry. However, it might lead to the homogenization of content and the erasure of cultural specificity.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9586chilelatin american melodramamelodramanetflixnordic noirsvodsvod originals |
| spellingShingle | Consuelo Ábalos When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction Media and Communication chile latin american melodrama melodrama netflix nordic noir svod svod originals |
| title | When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction |
| title_full | When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction |
| title_fullStr | When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction |
| title_full_unstemmed | When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction |
| title_short | When Latin American Melodrama Meets Nordic Noir: How SVOD Reshapes Chilean TV Fiction |
| title_sort | when latin american melodrama meets nordic noir how svod reshapes chilean tv fiction |
| topic | chile latin american melodrama melodrama netflix nordic noir svod svod originals |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/9586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT consueloabalos whenlatinamericanmelodramameetsnordicnoirhowsvodreshapeschileantvfiction |