Rewitched: Retextuality and the Queering of Bewitched

Abstract: At the same time the 1960s sitcom Bewitched aired in reruns next to drag queens on LOGOtv, a cable channel targeted to LGBTQ viewers, it also aired on the former National Christian Network channel (Familynet) immediately preceding a line-up of church programs featuring far-right, anti-gay activists. How can a TV text be supple enough to motivate two politically opposing media brands to pick it up, and are changes made to the text to condition it for a particular channel’s audience? This article returns to foundational theories of TV flow and intertextuality to argue that in syndication, the production labor endeavored by syndicators, executives, programmers, and marketing departments effectively retextualizes shows like Bewitched, offering scholars opportunities for new textual analyses and new insight into the marginalized and queer audiences syndicated programming often serves.