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> All the old television networks, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple, and others are pumping out more mediocre This is a subjective statement. You might even disl

> All the old television networks, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Apple, and others are pumping out more mediocre This is a subjective statement. You might even dislike shows on a particular service, but to say all of them are “objectively bad” and you think people watch more of “90s sitcoms” tells me that you probably prefer 90s sitcoms. :) I’m basically cycling between these providers each month. The Expanse, The Morning Show, Hawkeye, Succession, For All Mankind. Last year was the most television I’ve watched since I was a kid.

potatolicious 5y ago
It also sounds like a case of rose-tinted glasses - I watched many of those 90s sitcoms as they came out, and most of them are definitely mediocre! And this fact was noticed contemporaneously - remember all of the very serious thinkpieces opining that people were rotting their brains in front of the TV watching content so brain-dead that you need a laughtrack to tell the audience when to laugh. Personally I think that was just snobbery - the mediocre sitcoms were fine and perfectly ok entertainment and there was no need for any kind of moral panic - but let's not pretend that that was some kind of golden age of sophisticated content.
nostromo 5y ago
I don't actually watch those shows - I watched them a long time ago. I've just noticed that for many years, Netflix would show that their most-watched show was The Office. And I'm sitting here thinking -- all of this new content and the thing people are watching is over a decade old? South Park, Family Guy, Friends, Sienfield... I've seen these promoted by multiple services as the most-watched shows available.
- numpad0 5y ago
  People prefers to watch videos of normal people doing normal people things over everything else? I can’t laugh at my straw man either but that is horrifying.
- gowld 5y ago
  When a show has 10 long seasons, it's going to have more watch time than each of 10 single/mini series.
- mcphage 5y ago
  > And I'm sitting here thinking -- all of this new content and the thing people are watching is over a decade old? I don't think "created something more popular than The Office" is a good metric to decide that Netflix only creates mediocre content. The Office is really popular! There's plenty of room for creating high quality content, even if no single show reaches the level of popularity of The Office.

potatolicious 5y ago

It also sounds like a case of rose-tinted glasses - I watched many of those 90s sitcoms as they came out, and most of them are definitely mediocre! And this fact was noticed contemporaneously - remember all of the very serious thinkpieces opining that people were rotting their brains in front of the TV watching content so brain-dead that you need a laughtrack to tell the audience when to laugh. Personally I think that was just snobbery - the mediocre sitcoms were fine and perfectly ok entertainment and there was no need for any kind of moral panic - but let's not pretend that that was some kind of golden age of sophisticated content.

nostromo 5y ago

I don't actually watch those shows - I watched them a long time ago. I've just noticed that for many years, Netflix would show that their most-watched show was The Office. And I'm sitting here thinking -- all of this new content and the thing people are watching is over a decade old? South Park, Family Guy, Friends, Sienfield... I've seen these promoted by multiple services as the most-watched shows available.

numpad0 5y ago
People prefers to watch videos of normal people doing normal people things over everything else? I can’t laugh at my straw man either but that is horrifying.
gowld 5y ago
When a show has 10 long seasons, it's going to have more watch time than each of 10 single/mini series.
mcphage 5y ago
> And I'm sitting here thinking -- all of this new content and the thing people are watching is over a decade old? I don't think "created something more popular than The Office" is a good metric to decide that Netflix only creates mediocre content. The Office is really popular! There's plenty of room for creating high quality content, even if no single show reaches the level of popularity of The Office.