Prestige TV Is Fleeting, but Procedurals and Sitcoms Are Forever
Photos Courtesy of ABC
Television has hit a bit of a rough patch.
We have left the peak of Peak TV in the dust, and with cancellations being frisbeed into the throats of fledgling shows as soon as they poke their heads out of the nest, the lull ahead is sure to be a long one. It seems like everything Hollywood tries to throw at us is getting shorter and shorter, and with the shrinking screentime goes the familiar structural elements of TV that we all know and (mostly) love. It is rare that any series pushed out to a streaming service is given enough episodes to justify the thrill of a midseason break or the subtleties of whatever character or world building comes along with a filler episode, and even when a season manages to exceed the death-grip of an eight-episode limit, those aspects are still passed over.
The binge model is not conducive to any sort of long-term narrative suspense within the bounds of so little screentime, and unless a series is a spinoff or rehashing of previously existing IP, audiences have to do more with less when it comes to forming an emotional bond with the characters on our screens. Even then, more and more people are reluctant to even start the shows that streaming services put forward after many well-loved shows have gotten the boot before they have a chance to truly thrive.
Away from the ridiculousness of the streaming bubble folding in on itself (and refusing to pop) is broadcast television. Though viewership continues to decline—as it always has—anyone with a TV and an antenna is able to tune in to a broad offering of procedural dramas and sitcoms that have continued to make it past the invisible barrier that is squeezing shows like Dead Boy Detectives, A League of Their Own, and My Lady Jane to death.
There are, of course, the classics. First responders and doctors will always have a place on primetime, with Law and Order: SVU entering its 26th season this October and Grey’s Anatomy eking out its 21st just over three weeks from now. One Chicago’s Fire, PD, and Med are returning for Seasons 13, 12, and 10 respectively, and CBS’s S.W.A.T. has managed to make it to an eighth season despite being canceled twice over the span of its run. Even Station 19 got seven seasons before its untimely cancellation post-strikes, and while many—including myself—consider that cancellation premature, we still got to spend over 100 episodes with these characters and did not have to suffer multi-year hiatuses in the meantime. Sitcoms are less sturdy when it comes to these statistics, but both Abbott Elementary and Ghosts are entering their fourth seasons this fall, and with that many outings already in the bag, the least we can hope for is some solid longevity and both shows being able to end on their own terms. Outside of The Bear, Only Murders in the Building, and Heartstopper—all shows with 30-minute runtimes—you will be hard pressed to find a show on a streaming service that makes a point to come back the next calendar year after a new season drops.