cheryl
Administrator
Staff member
We’re Going to Run Out of TV - The Ringer
In the early months of the pandemic, television was in a rare position to maintain a modicum of normalcy. But as the shutdown drags on, and as sets remain closed, a drought is upon us.
For the past half-decade, TV has been defined by its surplus. The era we’re in, which is maybe just ending, has many names: Peak TV, Too Much TV, the Streaming Age. Whatever you call it, the result is a proliferation of platforms and content to stock them. With precious few exceptions, the conversation around TV has shifted from shows themselves to the surrounding infrastructure. The average consumer spends less time pondering plot-based questions like “Who shot J.R.?” and more time on the nuts and bolts of how they get their entertainment: Is this new service worth subscribing to? If so, how do I access it? With so many options out there, is this show worth my time?
The coronavirus pandemic has shifted how we lead our daily lives. As a concern, TV is obviously far less urgent than the life-or-death business of stopping the spread and administering care. Besides, for a few months, the time lag between production and distribution made TV a unique refuge from the ongoing effects of COVID-19, not an example of them. But as reality starts to catch up with an industry on prolonged pause, the reversal sprung on television as a whole is beginning to look unusually stark. When an entire ecosystem is premised on the idea of too much TV, what happens when there’s suddenly too little—or, at a minimum, dramatically less?
In the early months of the pandemic, television was in a rare position to maintain a modicum of normalcy. But as the shutdown drags on, and as sets remain closed, a drought is upon us.
For the past half-decade, TV has been defined by its surplus. The era we’re in, which is maybe just ending, has many names: Peak TV, Too Much TV, the Streaming Age. Whatever you call it, the result is a proliferation of platforms and content to stock them. With precious few exceptions, the conversation around TV has shifted from shows themselves to the surrounding infrastructure. The average consumer spends less time pondering plot-based questions like “Who shot J.R.?” and more time on the nuts and bolts of how they get their entertainment: Is this new service worth subscribing to? If so, how do I access it? With so many options out there, is this show worth my time?
The coronavirus pandemic has shifted how we lead our daily lives. As a concern, TV is obviously far less urgent than the life-or-death business of stopping the spread and administering care. Besides, for a few months, the time lag between production and distribution made TV a unique refuge from the ongoing effects of COVID-19, not an example of them. But as reality starts to catch up with an industry on prolonged pause, the reversal sprung on television as a whole is beginning to look unusually stark. When an entire ecosystem is premised on the idea of too much TV, what happens when there’s suddenly too little—or, at a minimum, dramatically less?