The purpose of this study is to examine how television series can function as a resource for existential reflection in peoples’ lives and thus, be a tool in the creation of a personal view on life. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate how television series can answer existential matters such as life, death, conflicts and finding peace.

The study was based on a survey which was answered by 82 informants and contained 42 questions in which 38 out of these concerned television series explicitly. 25 questions were closed multiple choice questions and 13 were open ended qualitative questions in which the informants were given the opportunity to give examples of different television series and reflect on these. Furthermore, the analysis was based on the reception theory which states that we as viewers are not apathetic to what we see, but reflect on it, both consciously and subconsciously. The results were analyzed from a theoretical framework which categorized the answers into seven different ways a viewer can relate to television series. The dimensions were the following: the contemplative dimension, the problem-solving dimension, the utopian dimension, the senso-motoric dimension, the ethical dimension, the philosophical-existential dimension and the self-reflexive dimension.

The results show that television series do function as a resource for existential reflection in the informants’ lives and can also be a resource for the construction of the informants’ personal view on life. Additionally, the results show that television series, although not always as explicitly, illustrate and provide answers for existential matters.