There is something profound and interesting happening on television today. Creators and audiences are both using the medium to do and to be more, constructing elaborate fictions and pointing to complicated realities in ways that are overwhelming in their absurdity and in their earnestness. It can feel strange, fraught, or contradictory, even as we laugh at what we see and enjoy how preposterous it all is. This excellent collection confronts all this and more, offering compelling analyses of a bevy of spectacular shows and offering challenging insights into the ways these programs offer profound connections to audiences and craft unique entertainment experiences in one of the most traditional media forms.

Zachary Sheldon, Lecturer in Film & Digital Media, Baylor University, USA

In this illuminating and insightful collection, Owen Cantrell and Sage Westfall have brought together a series of essays that open up important new angles, questions, and ways of thinking about the recent trend of "nicecore" television. While often written off as mere "comfort" viewing or escapist fantasy, the contributors to this collection reveal that such series in fact reflect many important trends and shifts taking place in the wider culture. For this reason, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in the aesthetic and political dimensions of contemporary television.

Lucas Thompson, Senior Lecturer in English & Writing, University of Sydney, Australia

From Hallmark movies to Ted Lasso, nicecore entertainment has been too quickly dismissed as lightweight and superficial. Irony and Sincerity in Contemporary Television offers the first serious study of nicecore television in this wide-ranging and groundbreaking collection. It emphasizes the complexity and depth of a popular culture genre that responds to our polarized times.

Carrie Bramen, Professor of English, University at Buffalo, USA