Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024

2023's Peak TV number was 404.

ere's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, January 2nd, 2023. 

PROGRAMMING NOTES
* My original intent was to put out a short newsletter yesterday highlighting some of my 2023 "best of" pieces, but I decided I needed one last holiday mental health day. Thanks for understanding.

THE NUMBER OF ORIGINAL SCRIPTED SHOWS AIRING IN 2023 HIT A DECADE-OLD LOW
Every industry has its folklore. The business practices and methods of operating that everyone "knows" is the truth. Even though more often than not, the accepted narratives range from slightly mistaken to outright ludicrous.

Chairman of FX Entertainment, FX Content & FX Productions John Landgraf is a very smart guy and obviously cares very deeply about the television industry. He also is acutely aware that reporters in any industry respond to seemingly frank talk. That's especially the case in the television business, where network executives have proven in recent years to be reluctant to speak to TV critics during their network's presentations in front of the Television Critics Association (TCA) twice-a-year gatherings in Pasadena.

One of his over-arching themes during the past few TCA gatherings is the idea of "peak TV," a phrase he coined back in 2015. Each year he brings out data compiled by FX's research folks, which among other things tracks the number of new English-language originals released over the past year in the United States. And as the number rises each year, the trend has sparked an entire cottage industry of think pieces that argue the television industry produces too many new shows.

And the entertainment news industrial complex loves that "peak TV" number Landgraf releases each year. It's a handy peg to write pieces around, even if the number of scripted shows is a fairly meaningless metric when it comes to judging the relative health of the industry.

This year's strike-delayed TCAs don't take place until early February and FX won't be presenting their panels until February 9th. And while I expect Landgraf to present another round of data on that day, getting a number six weeks into the New Year isn't all that helpful. 

So I decided to see if I could make my own estimate, utilizing the talents of the AllYourScreens Research Department (ie., me). I started with the comprehensive list I compiled of every premiere, finale and special that aired in 2023. I then used the parameters previously revealed by FX when they released their data. And I came up with my own estimate of English-language scripted shows that aired or streaming last year in the United States:

404.

As you can see from the chart below, that's a substantial drop from 2022 and that was expected to be the case given the prolonged WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike disruptions. What isn't clear is how much of the drop can be attributed to any decreased content spend industrywide.

I should be pretty close to the actual number FX will release, although some of the decisions on what to include are judgement calls. But as you might imagine, coming up with this number required a lot of work.

So I'd like to ask a favor. If possible, share this data with other people. The Penske-owned trades are frustratingly unwilling to cover news generated outside their sister publications, so I am struggling to get this data out there.

Here are some links to the original pieces that I posted yesterday:

Peak TV Watch: There Were An Estimated 404 Scripted Series In 2023

And here is a link to the complete list of 404 shows that ended up as part of my estimate. I posted it in order to make the process as transparent as possible.

So if you can, forward this newsletter or share the urls listed above. This is work I'm really proud of and I'd like to see it reach as many people as possible.

LOOKING BACK AT 2023
I've posted a number of stories over the past several days that can best be put into the basket of "Best Of 2023" pieces.

Here are links to a few of my favorites:

* Here are my six predictions of what to expect in the TV and media industry in 2024:

One Of The Penske Media-Owned Hollywood Trades Will Experiment With A Subscriber-Only Option
Like every other major media company, Penske Media is facing a number of financial headwinds for 2024. The advertising market continues to be weak, especially in the programmatic ad space, which Penske utilizes heavily on all of its Hollywood trade web sites. The company also relies heavily on FYC advertising, which is likely to be a more unpredictable revenue stream in 2024.

Given that Penske owns a majority of the core Hollywood news outlets - and their coverage tends to overlap quite a bit - I predict we'll see at least some talk about shifting one of the major sites to a subscriber-only mix similar to what Penske has done with sites such as Rolling Stone.

* I also highlighted my current favorite streaming services:

BEST INTERNATIONAL STREAMING SERVICE: MHz Choice
There are a number of solid choices for Americans looking for a streaming service that highlights programming from outside of North America. But most of them focus primarily on English-language shows originally produced in the U.K. and Australia, with a scattering of popular Nordic and European titles.

Which is great, but if your tastes are a bit more eclectic, then you'll be dazzled at the range of shows available on the international streamer MHz Choice. The service currently includes TV shows produced in 33 different countries, ranging from familiar places such as Australia and Norway to little-seen programming from Estonia, Lebanon, Chile and Serbia. 

The production quality can range quite a bit, depending on the expertise of the local industry. But the stories are almost always first-rate and MHz Choice offers a range of international programming that even Netflix would have trouble matching. Because MHz Choice licenses some of the best local programming available, while Netflix produces local shows meant to be seen globally, a process which leads to some of the local cultural nuances being lost in the globalization process.

* And I spoke with an executive at Apple TV+, who reflected on the highs and lows of 2023.

ODDS AND SODS
* Dave Chappelle has a new comedy special on Netflix and I really didn't like it:

As a comedian, Dave Chappelle has become the man he would have mocked 25 years ago. He's an arrogant, weirdly bitter and aggressively anti-trans critic who continues to live off of his reputation and the belief of fans that somehow this evolution into an evil Bob Hope is just some temporary creative detour.

I have no doubt this special - like previous ones from Chappelle - will prove to be very popular on Netflix. My only hope is that most of those viewers are there for nostalgia and not nodding along in agreement as Chappelle takes his latest round of badly conceived shots at any group he considers to be beneath him.

* "For generations of people right around the world, Bluey will be the first thing they learn about Australia and that’s incredibly powerful. Bluey’s brilliance is not just as an export but as a symbol of Australia. Nothing says Australia quite like Bluey.”

* And today's 1970s song you should know is Ian Lloyd's "Slip Away," a song which began its life as a rejected track from The Cars album Candy-O.

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW

TUESDAY, JANUARY 2ND:
*A Citizen's Guide to Preserving Democracy (PBS)
*Celebrity Jeopardy! Season Premiere (ABC)
*Celebrity Name That Tune Season Premiere (ABC)
*Finding Your Roots With Henry Gates Jr.Season Premiere (PBS)
*Fosca InnocentiSeries Premiere (MHz Choice)
*Good Trouble Season 5B Premiere (Freeform)
*MoonshinersSeason Premiere (Discovery)
*Road WarsSeason Premiere (A&E)
*The Floor Series Premiere (Fox)
*The Island Of 30 Coffins Series Premiere (MHz Choice)

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3RD:
*Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki(Crunchyroll)
*Classroom Of The Elite(Crunchyroll)
*Delicious In Dungeon Series Premiere (Netflix)
*I Can See Your Voice Season Premiere (Fox)
*Ishura Series Premiere (Hulu)
*Sistas Season Premiere (BET)
*We Are Family Series Premiere (Fox)

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!