Netflix and Complex Television: A Narrative Analysis of Latin American Series

Bardales A.B.C.; Leon V.O. · Proceedings of the 2025 IEEE 5th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies on Education and Research, ICALTER 2025 (2025) · DOI: 10.1109/icalter69698.2025.11355045

Resumen

Abstract: The exponential growth of Netflix in post-pandemic Latin America has generated an unprecedented increase in original production, but it has also raised questions about the qualitative evolution of its narratives. This research seeks to determine in what way the dramatic series produced in the 2021-2025 Latin American region manifest the characteristics of Jason Mittell's Complex Television through the use of flashbacks. A content analysis and a narrative analysis were used on 10 selected series' pilot episodes, employing a sequential mixed-methods methodology with an interpretive-constructivist structure. The quantitative results show that complex narrative forms are almost non-existent, while delimited and expository flashbacks are overwhelmingly predominant. It is concluded that Netflix's strategy in Latin America manifests narrative complexity in a very limited way. Instead of the formal innovation of the neoserial, the platform privileges conventional formulas and a logic of adapted complexity that prioritizes expository clarity and commercial appeal, ensuring an easy-to-consume mass product.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas