“Taking as real”: fandom e strategie narrative in Supernatural

This article aims to focus on the notion of metalepsis and to show how the multi-faceted use of this narrative strategy, in contemporary audiovisual products such as TV series, can productively interact with forms of transmedial expansion and with transformative fan works – especially within the framework of the new ‘rule of the game’ pointed out by Thomas Elsaesser in his contribution on mind-game films: ‘The world depicted is taken as real’. In order to discuss this hypothesis the essay specifically considers the TV show Supernatural, which represents a clear example of complex storytelling and has a large fan community.