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There is Simply Too Much New Programming on Television

posted by LaminatorX on Wednesday September 02 2015, @12:30AM   Printer-friendly
from the diamonds-in-the-coal-pile dept.

HughPickens.com writes:

John Koblin writes in the NYT that there's a malaise in TV these days that's felt among executives, viewers and critics, and it's the result of one thing: There is simply too much on television. John Landgraf, chief executive of FX Networks, reported at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour that the total number of original scripted series on TV in 2014 was 371 and will surpass 400 in 2015. The glut, according to Landgraf, has presented "a huge challenge in finding compelling original stories and the level of talent needed to sustain those stories." Michael Lombardo, president of programming at HBO. says it is harder than ever to build an audience for a show when viewers are confronted with so many choices and might click away at any moment. "I hear it all the time," says Lombardo. "People going, 'I can't commit to another show, and I don't have the time to emotionally commit to another show.' I hear that, and I'm aware of it, and I get it." Another complication is that shows not only compete against one another, but also against old series that live on in the archives of Amazon, Hulu or Netflix. So a new season of "Scandal," for example, is also competing against old series like "The Wire." "The amount of competition is just literally insane," says Landgraf.

Others point out that the explosion in programming has created more opportunity for shows with diverse casts and topics, such as "Jane the Virgin," "Transparent" and "Orange Is the New Black." Marti Noxon, the showrunner for Lifetime's "UnREAL" and Bravo's "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," says there has been a "sea change" in the last five years. "I couldn't have gotten those two shows on TV five years ago," says Noxon. "There was not enough opportunity for voices that speak to a smaller audience. Now many of these places are looking to reach some people — not all the people. That's opened up a tremendous opportunity for women and other people that have been left out of the conversation."

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  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:32AM

    by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday September 02 2015, @01:32AM (#231072) Journal

    and then there is the ones that finished and shouldn't have: Lost comes to mind.

    We're dead... or angels, or something... or, well... make up something so we can end it, put it into disc form and try to make MOOLAH, LOTS AND LOTS MOOLAH, HAHAHA!!! THEY'LL EAT IT, SO F*CK THEM, THEY'RE STUPID ANYWAYS!!! HAHAHA!

    And please bring back Sherlock... it was quirky and fun. Stop doing movies and finish it, you guys... sheesh. I WANT SHERLOCK!

    (Yes, i know Sherlock is probably dead in the water like Torchwood... sigh).

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday September 02 2015, @02:21AM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Wednesday September 02 2015, @02:21AM (#231103) Journal

    On 2 July 2014, Sherlock was renewed for a fourth series. The three-episode series is scheduled to be filmed in early 2016, following a full-length Christmas 2015 special that went into production in January 2015.

    Sherlock [wikipedia.org] is far from dead. It's one of BBC's biggest successes. "The third series became the UK's most watched drama series since 2001."

    They just take a long time to make it, and Cumberbatch and Freeman's exploding careers probably push it back even more.

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    • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Wednesday September 02 2015, @03:49AM

      by tangomargarine (667) on Wednesday September 02 2015, @03:49AM (#231120)

      Wow, they're calling 3 episodes a "season" now? Damn. That's taking it to a whole new level of "waiting a whole year for another 5 episodes of Being Human."

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    • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday September 02 2015, @12:19PM

      by Gaaark (41) on Wednesday September 02 2015, @12:19PM (#231214) Journal

      Thanks! :)

      I figured they would be too expensive now that they're 'SUPER STARS'!

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2015, @11:20AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2015, @11:20AM (#231199)

    Season 4 is coming at the start of next year. The promos [youtube.com] are out (you can find more there). Please forgive the music, it's that no-talent hobo Lorde murdering that song. I don't know what the hell it did to her, yet she killed it but good.

    There are a couple of frames in the promos that show stuff that didn't happen in previous series, so don't watch too closely.