How a Cult TV Series Is Built.A Case Study of Game of Thrones andPopular Literature in France

Cómo se construye una serie de culto. Estudio de caso a partir de Game of Thrones y la literatura popular en Francia

This article approaches popular literature as a way to boost the audience of cult TV products, assuming that audiovisual fiction is not limited to its smallscreen
exhibition, but expands through transmedia practices that feed the fandom phenomenon. Our case study is a corpus formed by a series of monograph journals about Game of Thrones that were published in France on the
occasion of the series’ finale. Our conclusions indicate that these publications contribute to the elaboration of an expert culture that is shared by audience members, offering them details that allow them, as fans, to hold conversations or to elaborate their own products. Among the strategies that promote this role are: the rich contents, the multiplicity of points of view, the display of originality, the scientific quality, and the varied and sometimes bold interpretations
of the original text. We can affirm that popular culture contributes to educating taste and offers taxonomies to legitimate highbrow culture, inviting audiences to filter their reception process and to become essential protagonists in audiovisual culture.