3 ms·

> we are in the golden age of tv shows. I disagree. > Streaming services enabled serious writers to work on tv shows. There weren't serious writers in TV bef

> we are in the golden age of tv shows. I disagree. > Streaming services enabled serious writers to work on tv shows. There weren't serious writers in TV before? https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/10/27/a-golden-age-of-tv-is-losing-its-shine https://www.economist.com/culture/2023/10/27/a-golden-age-of... > Some of the people who helped to create tv’s golden age are downbeat about its future. hbo “died at 50”, Michael Fuchs, who ran the network in the 1980s, tells Mr Biskind. “There’s no longer an hbo.” A producer of “The Wire”, one of hbo’s grittiest and most celebrated shows, says the company would never make it today.

imbnwa 3y ago
And The Wire had a notable hiatus between seasons 4 & 5 as the final fifth season wasn’t guaranteed. The show only really was lauded at a popular level after it'd already completed. No way a show like that gets past its first season in today's climate.
qwytw 3y ago
> There weren't serious writers in TV before? To be fair kind of.. Before the 2000s were few shows had complex plots which developed over several episodes. Basically every episode basically had to work on a standalone basis. So compared to movies writing in tv shows was mediocre at best. Although I agree that we're probably past the peak (~2010 +- 10 years)
- legitster 3y ago
  I think the thing I really miss is that episodes still had to work on a standalone basis. If you look at an episode of Mad Men or Breaking Bad, they still had a structure to them with an arc and multiple storylines in an episode. You had to be satisfied with a single episode for a whole week. A single episode of The Mandalorian may literally have nothing happening and no memorable moments and only exists to be consumed between two other episodes.
  - qwytw 3y ago
    True. Many modern "TV shows" can hardly be called such in the traditional sense. They are basically serialized (very long movies) and mainly an evolution of the mini-series format.

imbnwa 3y ago

And The Wire had a notable hiatus between seasons 4 & 5 as the final fifth season wasn’t guaranteed. The show only really was lauded at a popular level after it'd already completed. No way a show like that gets past its first season in today's climate.

qwytw 3y ago

> There weren't serious writers in TV before? To be fair kind of.. Before the 2000s were few shows had complex plots which developed over several episodes. Basically every episode basically had to work on a standalone basis. So compared to movies writing in tv shows was mediocre at best. Although I agree that we're probably past the peak (~2010 +- 10 years)

legitster 3y ago
I think the thing I really miss is that episodes still had to work on a standalone basis. If you look at an episode of Mad Men or Breaking Bad, they still had a structure to them with an arc and multiple storylines in an episode. You had to be satisfied with a single episode for a whole week. A single episode of The Mandalorian may literally have nothing happening and no memorable moments and only exists to be consumed between two other episodes.
- qwytw 3y ago
  True. Many modern "TV shows" can hardly be called such in the traditional sense. They are basically serialized (very long movies) and mainly an evolution of the mini-series format.