The focus group sessions that took place, respectively, in Milan (Italy) and Auckland (New Zealand) with fans of both shows were instrumental to an in-depth investigation of the general trends— in terms of viewing habits and modes of engagement— that emerged from the participants’ responses to the online surveys. The focus group discussions were structured in such a way to allow participants to express freely their feelings, preferences and interests regarding their favorite show, from the viewing process to the practices reflecting forms of investment in the show as well as social interactions, to the main reasons at the basis of their devotion for the program.

I started the moderation of the sessions by asking specific questions regarding the modality of viewing of the episodes, ranging from the choice of viewing platform to the preferred time and conditions for watching the show, mainly in terms of

• –Choice of the best context;

• –Company of other people versus viewing in solitude;

• –Engagement in parallel activities related/ or not related to the series during the viewing time

Participants gradually began to engage with each other about the dynamics of these habits and explain the motivations at the heart of their choices; they also provided relevant information regarding the nature of their passion for and attachment to the TV series under discussion. In particular, during the focus groups with the Italian fans of the shows, participants spent some time discussing their reasons for choosing (main trend) or not choosing to watch the original version of the programs, a topic that also allowed a conversation to develop about the problems related to the Italian broadcast of international media products (specifically, with reference to the Mad Men case).

The central part of the session was entirely dedicated to the forms of involvement in additional practices, beyond the viewing one, that constitute fundamental elements of the trans-media logic employed to construct and present the fictional universes of the shows. In the first place, I asked participants questions regarding their actual knowledge of the series’ transmedia architectures and, subsequently, I moved the conversation to the level of engagement that this type of strategy is capable of eliciting.