Can we talk about TV and its increasing fascination with incest, please?

I’ve noticed something curious on television recently.

First, I saw it on Game of Thrones, and my eyebrows threatened to touch my hairline. Months later, a scene on House of Cards made my chin dip into my cup of soup. Then there was Pretty Little Liars. Now, Netflix’s new cult hit Riverdale has followed suit.

Incest. Our TV producers are going gaga for it.

Some plot lines are more brazen than others – we’ve seen Cersei and Jaime Lannister “do it” more times than one can count – while others, like Riverdale, choose to hint at incestuous desire via telling looks and cryptic dialogue.

It must be said I’m not the only one who felt weird sexual vibes between twins Jason and Cheryl Blossom as they rowed out across the quiet lake, either. Reddit threads have been devised purely to question the “creepy” relationship, and publications from Refinery29 to Jezebel have done the same.

While Madelaine Petsch, who plays Cheryl, assured TV Line this wasn’t the case, she did understand suspicions; it turns out the actors on set refer to the bond as “twincest”, also.

“It’s a very awkward, weird place for [Cheryl] when she loses [Jason] to realise she’s so in love with him and so obsessed with him because no one loves her like he did. Her family doesn’t show love to her. She’s distraught and so lonely without him.”

Huh. Being in love with your brother to the point of obsession. That is… bizarre.

Then there’s House of Cards, which had a similar ick factor in a scene between Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and a considerably younger Zoe Barnes (Kate Mara), on Father’s Day in season one. To set the scene, the following dialogue was said while Frank was, uh, “going down” on Zoe.

FRANK: “Aren’t you going to wish me a happy Father’s Day?”

ZOE: “You don’t have any children…”

FRANK: “Don’t I?”

In fact, more broadly, House of Cards explores the power dynamic between a child and parent frequently. While politician Frank and his businesswoman wife Claire chose not to have any biological children, they do tend to lure younger women and men into their orbit.

Once there, these young people – most notably Zoe and security guard Meechum – are manipulated and gaslighted. When they rebel, or challenge the power dynamic, Frank emblematically describes this as the “kitten gets its claws“, and cuts them out.

The topic of incest is explored on a shallower level by Pretty Little Liars, when season six saw the relationship between CeCe Drake and Jake – who dated in high school – be exposed.

Because you guessed it! They’re actually brother and sister and THAT’S why they broke up.

Indeed, the above examples are not in any way groundbreaking. Matters of incest have appeared on the silver screen since George Michael Bluth's secret love for his cousin Maeby Fünke in Arrested Development. 

But in the last decade, there seems to have been a marked increase, and it's one we ought to question.

Why are our screens now laced with saucy, cringeworthy incestuous relationships?

It's impossible to know. But perhaps in a world so structured and politically correct, the most politically incorrect theme of them all has been vehiculated.

We're so strictly monitored, organised and managed, the creative minds in TV just can't help but flip the narrative by making us confront the most perverted sexual practices.

It might make for some awkward viewing, but it doesn't look like incest and TV are parting ways anytime soon.

Do you think the amount of incestuous relationships on TV is rising?