This essay explores the ill-fated television series Off the Map. Through the use of an ideological critique, we argue that this installment of Shondaland failed due to its possessive investment in whiteness. Through a lack of cultural sensitivity in televisual representation of its main characters, the setting of the series, and televisual melodrama, Off the Map failed to obtain enough of an audience to sustain it for a second season. Our analysis reveals that studying popular texts that fail can often teach us something those that succeed cannot.
Key words: Off the Map, Shondaland, Shonda Rhimes, Whiteness, Television Representation, Ideology
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