As our panel title suggests, the American South has re-appeared in a number of recent television series, prompting a reporter for the New York Times to compare the bare bones parochialism to the slow food movement and simply call it “slow television.” He writes about “Memphis Blues” on TNT, “This series is to Memphis what the HBO series “Treme” is to New Orleans and “Justified” on FX is to Harlan County in Kentucky—timeless indigenous music is set against the exoticism of temporal subcultures. Atmosphere is the real hero of all these shows and music is the sidekick, be it R&B, jazz, or as is the case in “Justified,” bluegrass tinged with rap.” Our host city and conference theme provide a strong incentive to explore what we consider a slight resurgence and renewed interest in the American South as it is being re-imagined across the contemporary television landscape. Investigating the various intersections of race, class, gender, and place, on the one hand, and industry, narrative, and style, on the other, each presentation on this panel is principally concerned with the ways these factors determine whether and how one belongs to the South. That is, who is most at home in this place and why? Taking seriously the range and diversity of the individual titles contributing to the “slow television” movement, this panel also aims to produce a conversation whose parameters extend beyond a single series and offer a much richer understanding of what is at stake when the national imaginary pulls inspiration from below the Mason Dixon Line. Please send 200-350 word abstracts and a bio to [log in to unmask] by August 14, 2010. ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html