The first year that I ranked my favorite TV shows, I capped it at 10. That was 2014. There were only one NETFLIX show on the list: Orange is the New Black. The next year I raised it to 15, which I held for 2016. Last year, I bumped it to 20, and honestly it could have been 25. We've heard for years that 'Peak TV' is a thing now, not in terms of quality but unabashed quantity just flooding both cable, and now streaming. I'm not going to make some grand sweeping judgement, apart from this: it is purely a quantity issue, and it is starting to reach diminishing returns, I think.
My #1 show of 2014 was Fargo Season 1. In 2015, it was Veep. Those are essentially pre-Peak TV shows, particularly Veep, which was on its 4th season at the time. In 2016, it was The People vs OJ Simpson, a true peak-TV treat. And in 2017, it was The Young Pope, again a pure Peak TV creation where the rise of TV was able to get Jude Law on board. All four are great shows and in the case of Fargo and Veep had great seasons. But would I say either of the 'Peak TV' creations are better than their predecessors atop my list? No.
Last year, between NETFLIX and Amazon, 7 of my 20 were streaming based, and honestly one that I just forgot about that absolutely should have been on my list was Mindhunter. But as 10 became 15 became 20 and may become 25, I do ask myself are we better off. Do we need this many shows. Certainly, from a time perspective I can still manage, but doing so I know I'm also missing out on shows I'm sure are great (Americans, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, whatever that Pamela Adlon show was), but I can't manage.
Already in 2018 I'm facing down a guantlet. Out of my 20 shows from last year, only two are definitely not returning in 2018: Game of Thrones and Fargo, and two others may spill into 2019: Always Sinny and Curb Your Enthusiasm. One more is slated to end its run in 2018: Veep. The rest are continuing, and honestly half of them shouldn't. This is the biggest problem right now. No one knows when to stop.
When 'Peak TV' started off, it was highlighted by a slew of anthology shows that featured superstar casts with the idea it was a short run - take Fargo Season 1, or even True Detective. Even if those shows returned, it would be a different story. Somehow, we still get those shows, but there is always a push, far too often ceded to, for it to continue.
There is no reason for another season of Big Little Lies, or The Young Pope coming back without Jude Law but with others. There is no reason for a second season of 13 Reasons Why. But the groundswell was too much for the companies to shut them down. What that creates is a too many shows returning on top of too many new shows.
This early in 2018, I already have a few new entrants I feel could make a Top-25 type list (and maybe Top-20), in Everything Sucks, NETFLIX's strange B-version of Freaks and Geeks, the second American Crime Story, and the strangest one: Babylon Berlin, a german produced period piece on NETFLIX. And this again is two months into the year and before any of my shows that return from last year's list even debut (iZombie does so tonight). This is getting into madness.
What also hurts is it is hard to walk away from a show. Out of all those returning shows, the only one I wouldn't really care to watch is another season of 13 Reasons Why. I'll probably check out a Jude Law-less 'The New Pope', despite having low expectations. Even when starting it is always hard to go away from something. I hope I can with Legion, a show that just didn't work for me, and I'm sure there were others, but having the willpower to just remove a show from the rotation is always a struggle.
On the whole, there seems to be no end in sight. More and more shows start each week. NETFLIX drops a motherload seemingly each week. Picking and Choosing is tough, but necessary. Going away from something that isn't working is even more important. But what's also important to recognize is that quantity does not equal quality. I don't know if my Top-10 of 2017 is any better of what it was in 2014. The best shows that I've ever watched were all in the mid-00's, or at least started then (putting aside like Seinfeld). It is spread so thin now. And there's always a concern to worry about losing what made TV so great that peak TV was born anyway.
My #1 show of 2014 was Fargo Season 1. In 2015, it was Veep. Those are essentially pre-Peak TV shows, particularly Veep, which was on its 4th season at the time. In 2016, it was The People vs OJ Simpson, a true peak-TV treat. And in 2017, it was The Young Pope, again a pure Peak TV creation where the rise of TV was able to get Jude Law on board. All four are great shows and in the case of Fargo and Veep had great seasons. But would I say either of the 'Peak TV' creations are better than their predecessors atop my list? No.
Last year, between NETFLIX and Amazon, 7 of my 20 were streaming based, and honestly one that I just forgot about that absolutely should have been on my list was Mindhunter. But as 10 became 15 became 20 and may become 25, I do ask myself are we better off. Do we need this many shows. Certainly, from a time perspective I can still manage, but doing so I know I'm also missing out on shows I'm sure are great (Americans, Crazy Ex Girlfriend, whatever that Pamela Adlon show was), but I can't manage.
Already in 2018 I'm facing down a guantlet. Out of my 20 shows from last year, only two are definitely not returning in 2018: Game of Thrones and Fargo, and two others may spill into 2019: Always Sinny and Curb Your Enthusiasm. One more is slated to end its run in 2018: Veep. The rest are continuing, and honestly half of them shouldn't. This is the biggest problem right now. No one knows when to stop.
When 'Peak TV' started off, it was highlighted by a slew of anthology shows that featured superstar casts with the idea it was a short run - take Fargo Season 1, or even True Detective. Even if those shows returned, it would be a different story. Somehow, we still get those shows, but there is always a push, far too often ceded to, for it to continue.
There is no reason for another season of Big Little Lies, or The Young Pope coming back without Jude Law but with others. There is no reason for a second season of 13 Reasons Why. But the groundswell was too much for the companies to shut them down. What that creates is a too many shows returning on top of too many new shows.
This early in 2018, I already have a few new entrants I feel could make a Top-25 type list (and maybe Top-20), in Everything Sucks, NETFLIX's strange B-version of Freaks and Geeks, the second American Crime Story, and the strangest one: Babylon Berlin, a german produced period piece on NETFLIX. And this again is two months into the year and before any of my shows that return from last year's list even debut (iZombie does so tonight). This is getting into madness.
What also hurts is it is hard to walk away from a show. Out of all those returning shows, the only one I wouldn't really care to watch is another season of 13 Reasons Why. I'll probably check out a Jude Law-less 'The New Pope', despite having low expectations. Even when starting it is always hard to go away from something. I hope I can with Legion, a show that just didn't work for me, and I'm sure there were others, but having the willpower to just remove a show from the rotation is always a struggle.
On the whole, there seems to be no end in sight. More and more shows start each week. NETFLIX drops a motherload seemingly each week. Picking and Choosing is tough, but necessary. Going away from something that isn't working is even more important. But what's also important to recognize is that quantity does not equal quality. I don't know if my Top-10 of 2017 is any better of what it was in 2014. The best shows that I've ever watched were all in the mid-00's, or at least started then (putting aside like Seinfeld). It is spread so thin now. And there's always a concern to worry about losing what made TV so great that peak TV was born anyway.
