The emergence of male-centered serials such as The Shield, Rescue Me, and Sons Of Anarchy and the challenges these characters face in negotiating modern masculinities.

From

the meth-dealing but devoted family man Walter White of AMC’s Breaking Bad,

to the part-time basketball coach, part-time gigolo Ray Drecker of HBO’s Hung,

depictions of male characters perplexed by societal expectations of men and

anxious about changing American masculinity have become standard across the

television landscape. Engaging with a wide variety of shows, including The

League, Dexter, and Nip/Tuck, among many others, Amanda D. Lotz

identifies the gradual incorporation of second-wave feminism into prevailing

gender norms as the catalyst for the contested masculinities on display in

contemporary cable dramas.

Examining

the emergence of male-centered serials such as The Shield, Rescue Me, and Sons of Anarchy and the challenges these characters face in negotiating

modern masculinities, Lotz analyzes how these shows combine feminist approaches

to fatherhood and marriage with more traditional constructions of masculine

identity that emphasize men’s role as providers. She explores the dynamics of

close male friendships both in groups, as in Entourage and Men of a

Certain Age, wherein characters test the boundaries between the homosocial

and homosexual in their relationships with each other, and in the dyadic

intimacy depicted in Boston Legal and Scrubs. Cable Guys provides a

much needed look into the under-considered subject of how constructions of masculinity

continue to evolve on television.