I Don't Like TV Shows Anymore, HELP!

[Osprey]

I think the one expection to that might be books.

People still read those? Imagine wasting 12 hours reading a book when you could watch the movie in only 2 hours, instead.

Spoiler

 

[tarheelhockey]

I think the one expection to that might be books.

Even at that, some books carry a stigma. Romance novels, for example, which are probably the most-consumed books in the market.

Side note: my wife is the fastest and most voracious reader I’ve ever met. She has read nearly 200 books already this year, while also working a high-pressure job and mom’ing. She can easily take down 5 books a day if left alone, easily. This is unsustainable in terms of both money and storage space, and she long ago blasted through the canon of Important Literature, so she has resorted to using Kindle Unlimited as a bottomless (and body-less) well of reading material. The greater 90% of that library consists of self-published romance, so she has in turn become a connoisseur of trashy fiction. Which, as it turns out, is a much more self-aware subculture than one might suspect. Nothing about the genre is intended to be taken seriously, so it’s a haven for authors and fans who want to have crackpot fun and thumb their nose at convention. But the only way into that experience is to drop any pretense of reading Literature and just give yourself up to escapism. That circles back to the way a lot of folks consume television, especially with people identifying as much with the social/fanbase side as with the actual program (e.g., reality shows, sports).

Right, I'm not talking about couch potatoes who think Magnum P.I. is the pinnacle of culture either, but I think that the more worthwhile alternative side of a lot of these forms of entertainment are often dismissed as lesser options than other things (like travel, for example) partly because of their association with the diversion side of entertainment (which occupies the same mediums) because it's usually the thing that people start to move away from and dismiss at that point in their life. Again, that's anecdotal, but I do suspect that it represents some sizeable subsection of the population.

I mean, TV as a whole has always been lowbrow entertainment. People whose tastes become more refined to the “finer things” are probably going to move away from it. People whose tastes stay pretty modest tend to stick with TV as they age, at least from what I’ve seen.

There’s also a generational shift going on with streaming. We are probably in the greatest golden age of TV, right now. It’s unbelievable how much top-shelf content has been released in the past, say, 5 years. That goes hand-in-hand with a trend toward binging movie-quality serials rather than watching episodic shows on a weekly timetable. It’s quite possible we see more people finding and appreciating offbeat productions as a result.

 

[Shareefruck]

I mean, TV as a whole has always been lowbrow entertainment. People whose tastes become more refined to the “finer things” are probably going to move away from it. People whose tastes stay pretty modest tend to stick with TV as they age, at least from what I’ve seen.

There’s also a generational shift going on with streaming. We are probably in the greatest golden age of TV, right now. It’s unbelievable how much top-shelf content has been released in the past, say, 5 years. That goes hand-in-hand with a trend toward binging movie-quality serials rather than watching episodic shows on a weekly timetable. It’s quite possible we see more people finding and appreciating offbeat productions as a result.

First paragraph I agree with, and my comments are more about the entertainment mediums as a whole, not television specifically (although I do think it applies to all of them, including television). Can't say I agree with the second paragraph, though. I'd say that about the 2000s maybe, but while I like some things in the 2010s (like Atlanta), personally, I feel like showrunners seem to have observed how well received television from the 2000s were and sort of artificially figured out the formula to creating serialized dramas that are able to reliably garner critical acclaim while actually being pretty soulless and more interested in vapid formulaic thrills and the same old dramatic tricks disguised as something more serious (Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Westworld, Mr. Robot and most dramas that have blown up recently tend to feel that way to me). That's just me, though.

If you're just talking about the number of people watching and being into Television and not the value of the shows, though, then sure, I can see that.

 

[belair]

If you haven't seen Narcos yet, it's probably the best series on Netflix that isn't Breaking Bad. Narcos: Mexico is just as solid. Ozark isn't as well written, but it's pretty intense right off the hop.

Was mentioned before, The Wire is an outstanding series. Really gritty, great character development and some of the best writing from a series I've ever seen. The Sopranos is an obvious suggestion as well.

 

[x Tame Impala]

And FYI on tv now - The Queen's Gambit is very good and different.

Haven't liked a show this much in a long time! Thanks! Wife and I watched 5 episodes last night.

 

[x Tame Impala]

If you haven't seen Narcos yet, it's probably the best series on Netflix that isn't Breaking Bad. Narcos: Mexico is just as solid. Ozark isn't as well written, but it's pretty intense right off the hop.

Was mentioned before, The Wire is an outstanding series. Really gritty, great character development and some of the best writing from a series I've ever seen. The Sopranos is an obvious suggestion as well.

I've seen the first two seasons and they were great. Hear good things about the Mexican (spinoff?) seasons too but never got into it. The Escobar seasons were too intense

I'll give Ozark a shot though.