Show Sold Separately: Promos, Spoilers, and Other Media Paratexts Jonathan Gray It is virtually impossible to watch a movie or TV show without preconceived notions because of the hype that precedes them, while a host of media extensions guarantees them a life long past their air dates. An onslaught of information from print media, trailers, internet discussion, merchandising, podcasts, and guerilla marketing ensures that we know a great deal about many shows without ever having watched them. These extras, or “paratexts,” that surround viewing experiences are far from peripheral, shaping our understanding of shows and informing our decisions about what to watch and even how to watch. Show Sold Separately gives critical attention to this ubiquitous but often overlooked phenomenon, analyzing paratexts like DVD bonus materials for The Lord of the Rings, spoilers for Lost, the opening credits of The Simpsons, Star Wars actions figures, press reviews for Friday Night Lights, the framing of Batman Begins, the videogame of The Thing, and the trailers for The Sweet Hereafter. Plucking these extra materials from the wings and giving them the spotlight they deserve, Jonathan Gray examines the world of film and television that exists before and after the show. Jonathan Gray is Associate professor of Media and cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is the author of Television Entertainment and Watching with The Simpsons and co-editor of Satire TV and Fandom (both available from NYU Press).