Cable channels are gone, networks are barely hanging on, streamers aren't producing anything new...
So, what happens next?
This is the question everybody in the industry - TV writers, actors, crew, producers, even executives - have been asking themselves since the strikes ended.
Is this the end of TV as we know it? If you listen to some people on TikTok and Instagram, the answer is a definitive yes.
I'm not in that camp.
I think we're entering an interesting time where things are going to evolve and the doors are going to open wide. But it may take a few years.
First, let's take a look at where we stand today...
The Current State of TV
Networks are still producing some shows. And streamers are still producing some shows.
But what kind of TV is this? Well, they're not small, cheap shows starring nobody big, like we used to get in the comedy space (Broad City, Workaholics, hell even, The Office).
No, what we're seeing are fewer shows but bigger budgets for those shows.
So, we're getting the Game of Thrones sequels. We're getting Fallot. We're getting Presumed Innocent. Shows with budgets and star power.
The Future for TV Writers and Creators
But this leaves a hole in what people want. Gone are the scrappy comedies that surprised us all. The insightful human drama is a thing of the past.
We have celebrities and we have high production value. And then we have YouTube and social media.
Which is where I believe things are going...
Instead of TV being guarded by the studios, we're going to start getting higher quality series online.
A show will come along that's fully self-funded and produced, and has high enough quality, an amazing story, and great acting, and it will become the new "thing" that everyone starts to do.
It will sort of be the same phenomenon as the web series craze that happened in the late 00's.
A lot of those series were picked up and put on cable channels as they were really taking off. And a slew of other scrappy low-budget TV shows followed.
Basically, something outside of the studio system is going to hit, and studios, streamers, and networks are going to follow the craze. Because they're too scared to do it first.
The production quality every single person is now capable of is astounding. However, the acting ability and stories have not matched it.
I believe the door is open for the next person who wants to lead a truly indie TV revolution.
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