The big bang theory of stardom: the social process of sharing emotional experiences associated online TV actors

Abstract

The new media provide alternative ways for consumers to enjoy TV series and fertile ground for researchers to analyse the stardom process. We analyse the case of Korean actors performing in K-drama productions that are globally made available through online platforms, testing alternative theories on the process of becoming a star. Socially shared emotional experiences among viewers seems to be the launching pad to stardom in a process fuelled by a snowball effect. However, potential exponential growth in social sharing is mediated by the market size: the larger the market, the stronger the snowball effect. As for viewers’ interaction networks, these are structured according to actor popularity. In the process of an actor acquiring popularity, the structure of the viewers’ network evolves from isolated individuals to a few of central communicators interacting with many other viewers. We refer to this transformation process of the network structure as the big bang theory of stardom.