What happens when a once-celebrated television gem, renowned for its wit and beloved ensemble, struggles to endure the passage of time? This talk will delve into the Greek television romantic comedy Eisai To Tairi Mou / You Are My Soulmate (MEGA, 2001-2002) to explore how older television material may resonate in different socio-temporal contexts. The case study selected for this discussion is a rare television show that emphatically addresses the topic of fatness and humor surrounding body politics. Furthermore, it is a show whose main actors' stances on the subject of fatness and/or involvement in (post-)#MeToo debates have ignited discussions surrounding celebrity personas and the role of actors' extratextual cultural baggage in the reevaluation of older material. The ways in which the show and its characters’ trajectories have therefore been received by contemporary online audiences will be the primary focus of this talk. Through the analysis of comments on platforms such as YouTube and others, this talk will explore how such posts, often dismissed as frivolous and unimportant, can offer more profound insights than being mere hubs of entertainment and user interaction. Additionally, the netnographic data of this research will allow us to illuminate epistemological and ethical complexities that may arise when studying material shaped by contributions from online users.

About the speaker

Spiros Chairetis (DPhil, Oxford University 2021) is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Communication, Media, and Culture at Panteion University and a Marilena Laskaridis Visiting Fellow at the University of Amsterdam for the spring semester of 2024. His current research focuses on queer readings of television, the relationship between Greek television fiction and its audiences, and the role of humor in these texts. Together with Maria Boletsi, Spiros is organizing a workshop titled "Humor and its Political Affordances Today: From Nostalgia to Cancel Cultures" to be held at the University of Amsterdam on May 31st, 2024.