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from the diamonds-in-the-coal-pile dept.
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."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Magic Oddball on Wednesday September 02 2015, @07:30PM
I was surprised to learn firsthand this year that the paradox of choice can apply to this situation. After being bored with videos for almost 20 years, I decided to see if there were any oddball ShoutCast streaming channels left and found a short list of the consistent free ones [thugie.nl]. One of them called DoughyGuy Broadcast System [blogspot.com] had some hilariously awful bizarre old T&A fantasy/science-fiction film playing — something I'd never bother with normally — but with nothing else available, it was good enough for sitting in a window on my desktop (and sometimes actually directing all of my attention at). I soon found a *lot* of stuff moves into the "good enough" category (and becomes inexplicably enjoyable) when there's only one channel available.
I did learn from some of the DGBS selections that some of that difference is that I'm not into more modern styles or actors (I found that I liked the Roger Moore 007 films and even a Vincent Price spoof, but not the ones made after the 80s), but a lot of it is still the result of not knowing what the hell to choose when faced with hundreds of options and feeling constantly discontent with anything I do pick.
My reaction is a lot more extreme than most people's since I'm rarely into video-watching and in my late 30s, but I'm guessing that *some* of the same effect is going on. It's certainly the best way I can think of to explain some of the awful crap that we (or our parents or grandparents' generations) watched back in the day. ;-)