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Golden Age of Television (2000s–present)

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In the United States, the current Golden Age of Television, or Peak TV, has been a period widely regarded as being marked by a large number of "high quality", internationally acclaimed television programs.[1][2][3][4]

Named in reference to the original Golden Age of Television in the 1950s, the period has also been referred to as the "New", "Second" or "Third Golden Age of Television". The various names reflect disagreement over whether shows of the 1980s and 1990s belong to a since-concluded golden era or to the current one.[5][6][7][8][9][10] Various sources have identified the beginning of the current period as the early 1980s,[11] the late 1980s-early 1990s,[12] the mid-to-late 1990s,[13][14] or the early 2000s.[15]

It is believed to have resulted from advances in media distribution technology,[5][9] digital TV technology (including HDTV, online video platforms, TV streaming, video-on-demand, and web TV),[16][5] and a large increase in the number of hours of available television, which has prompted a major wave of content creation.[17]

History

French scholar Alexis Pichard has argued that TV series enjoyed a Second Golden Age[18] starting in the 2000s which was a combination of three elements: first, an improvement in both visual aesthetics and storytelling; second, an overall homogeneity between cable series and networks series; and third, a tremendous popular success. Pichard contends that this Second Golden Age was the result of a revolution initiated by the traditional networks in the 1980s and carried on by the cable channels (especially HBO) in the 1990s.[19]

Film director Francis Ford Coppola thinks that the second golden age of television comes from "kids" with their "little father's camcorder", who wanted to make films like he did in the 1970s but were not permitted to, so they did it for television.[20]

The new Golden Age turned on creator-driven tragic dramas of the 2000s and 2010s, including Buffy The Vampire Slayer[21]and Oz,[22] which both first aired in 1997; 1999's The Sopranos[23] and The West Wing; 2001's Six Feet Under and 24;[24][25] 2002's The Wire[26] and The Shield,[27] 2004's Deadwood[28][29] and Battlestar Galactica;[30] 2005's Avatar: The Last Airbender;[31] 2006's Friday Night Lights;[32] 2007's Mad Men[33]; 2008's Breaking Bad;[34][35] 2011's Game of Thrones;[10][36][37] and 2013's House of Cards.[38] Others appear in the Writer's Guild of America vote for 101 Best Written TV Shows.[39]

Origins

The Golden Age of television is believed to have resulted from advances in media distribution technology,[5][9] digital TV technology (including HDTV, online video platforms, TV streaming, video-on-demand, and web TV),[16][5] and a large increase in the number of hours of available television, which has prompted a major wave of content creation.[17]

Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice has argued that the current golden age began earlier with network shows like Babylon 5 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (both of which premiered in 1993), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).[13] Will Gompertz of the BBC believes that Friends, which debuted in 1994, might stake a claim as the opening bookend show of the period.[14] Matt Zoller Seitz argues that it began in the 1980s with Hill Street Blues (1981) and St. Elsewhere (1982).[11] Kirk Hamilton of Kotaku has said that Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005) should be considered a part of the golden age of television, and recommended "the sophisticated kids show" to others.[40] With the rise of instant access to content on Netflix, creator-driven television shows like Breaking Bad, The Shield (2002), Friday Night Lights (2006) and Mad Men gained cult followings that grew to become widely popular. The success of instant access to television shows was presaged by the popularity of DVDs, and continues to increase with the rise of digital platforms and online companies.

The increase in the number of shows is also cited as evidence of a Golden Age, or "peak TV". In the five years between 2011 and 2016, the number of scripted television shows, on broadcast, cable and digital platforms increased by 71%. In 2002, 182 television shows aired, while 2016 had 455 original scripted television shows and 495 in 2018. The number of shows are rising largely due to companies like Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu investing heavily in original content. The number of shows aired by online service increased from only one in 2009 to over 93 in 2016. John Landgraf, the CEO of FX Networks, has stated that the amount of television series being aired during peak TV could be overwhelming for the viewer to choose from, especially for critics obligated to review as many shows as possible, which results in a decreased output of television series in the future.[41][42][43][44][45][46] An increasing reliance on rebooting and reviving existing franchises led to widespread belief that the Golden Age of Television was ending in the late 2010s,[47] with the caveat that some of these reboots (such as Girl Meets World[48] and One Day at a Time[49][50]) share the positive reception and mature character development of original shows of the era.

Characteristics and criticism

Characteristics of this golden age are complicated characters who may be morally ambiguous or antiheroes, questionable behavior, complex plots, diverse perspectives and often forays into R-rated territory.[51][52][53]

Genres of television associated with this golden age include dramas (especially ones originating on cable and digital platforms); sitcoms (especially ones that use comedy-drama which some critics would called them "sadcoms"),[54] single-camera setup, or adult animation; sketch comedy (especially series linked to alternative comedy); and late-night talk shows (especially ones that emphasize news satire).

The era is not without criticism as the quantity of original shows being produced have some, like FX CEO John Landgraf,[55] worried about overwhelming the viewing audience.[56]

Notable figures

Showrunners
Actors
Hosts

Notable outlets

Terrestrial networks

Cable/satellite channels

International networks

Streaming services

See also: Online video platform, Streaming television, Video on demand, and Web television

Notable shows

Past shows associated with the second Golden Age of Television

See also

References

  1. ^ The new, new TV golden age - CNN
  2. ^ Plunkett, John; Deans, Jason. "Kevin Spacey: television has entered a new golden age". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  3. ^ Stephen McGinty: A golden age of television? - The Scotsman
  4. ^ ITV share price: Broadcaster calls for retransmission payments - Invezz.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Carr, David. "Barely Keeping Up in TV's New Golden Age". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  6. ^ "The CB Guide to the New Golden Age of Television". Canadian Business. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  7. ^ Weisenthal, Joe; Robinson, Melia. "16 Things You Never Knew About The New Golden Age Of TV". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  8. ^ Pichard, Alexis. Le nouvel âge d'or des séries américaines. Editions Le Manuscrit.
  9. ^ a b c Welcome to TV's second "Golden Age" - CBS News
  10. ^ a b Reese, Hope. "Why Is the Golden Age of TV So Dark?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 24 January 2015.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Zoller Seitz, Matt (October 25, 2016). "Why the Golden Age of TV Was Really Born in the 1980s". Vulture.com.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Making A Case For The '90s, Television's 'Other' Golden Age-UPROXX
  13. ^ a b c d Zacharek, Stephanie (2015). "Why Avengers: Age of Ultron Fills this Buffy Fan with Despair". The Village Voice. Archived May 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ a b Gompertz, Will (November 2, 2019). "The Morning Show: Will Gompertz reviews Aniston and Witherspoon's Apple TV drama". BBC.com. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
  15. ^ The golden age of TV is dead; long live the golden age of TV|AV Club
  16. ^ a b Lipsett, Joe (2018). "Defining Success in the Era of Peak TV: A Case Study". In Newman, Emily L.; Witsell, Emily (eds.). ABC Family to Freeform TV: Essays on the Millennial-Focused Network and Its Programs. McFarland & Company. pp. 15–32. ISBN 978-1-4766-6735-5.
  17. ^ a b Simon, Jeff (March 31, 2015). "Who put these shows on the air and why?". The Buffalo News. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  18. ^ TV's golden age is real: The end of channel surfing The Economist
  19. ^ Pichard, 2011, p.11
  20. ^ Francis Ford Coppola: 'Apocalypse Now is not an anti-war film' The Guardian
  21. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.191
  22. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.19
  23. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.32
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Young, Alex (September 21, 2016). "Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest TV Shows proves we're really in the Golden Age of Television | Consequence of Sound". Consequence of Sound.
  25. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.218
  26. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.69
  27. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.130
  28. ^ Saraiya, Sonia (May 30, 2019). "Review: The Deadwood Movie Gives the Golden Age Series What it Deserves: a Fitting, Emotional Sendoff". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  29. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.96
  30. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.243
  31. ^ a b c d e f g Sholars, Mike (February 21, 2014). "It's All Geek To Me: The Golden Age Of Animated Television | HuffPost Canada". The Huffington Post Canada.
  32. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.272
  33. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.301
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lawson, Mark (May 23, 2013). "Are we really in a 'second golden age for television'? | Television & radio | The Guardian". Guardian News & Media.
  35. ^ The Revolution Was Televised by Alan Sepinwall pg.336
  36. ^ Kakutani, Michiko (24 June 2013). "Brett Martin's 'Difficult Men' Sees a New Golden Age for TV". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  37. ^ Plunkett, John; Deans, Jason (22 August 2013). "Kevin Spacey: television has entered a new golden age". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  38. ^ [1]
  39. ^ "101 Best Written TV Series List". wga.org. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  40. ^ kotaku.com
  41. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (18 August 2015). "'Peak TV in America': Is there really too much good scripted television?". HitFix. HitFix, Inc. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  42. ^ James, Meg (16 December 2015). "2015: Year of 'peak TV' hits record with 409 original series". LA Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  43. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (16 December 2015). "Peak TV: Surge From Streaming Services, Cable Pushes 2015 Scripted Series Tally to 409". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  44. ^ Leslie, Ian (2017-04-13). "Watch it while it lasts: our golden age of television". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  45. ^ Flint, Joe (2016-12-21). "Peak TV Still Going Strong With 455 Scripted Shows in 2016". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  46. ^ Koblin, John (2019-04-12). "Hollywood Upended as Unions Tell Writers to Fire Agents". The New York Times. p. B1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-04-13.
  47. ^ Adalian, Josef (February 1, 2018). "Why Network TV's Obsession With Reboots Isn't a Bad Thing". Vulture.com. Retrieved April 17, 2019. My former Variety colleague Michael Schneider, executive editor of IndieWire, captured perfectly the jaded response many had to last month's reboot news: "Anyone else getting the sense that broadcast TV is embarking on its Farewell Tour by playing all the hits one last time?" he tweeted.
  48. ^ Sabienna Bowman (January 7, 2017). "Girl Meets World Has Become a Landmark Show for a New Generation of Fans". Bustle. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  49. ^ "Best of 2017: Television Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  50. ^ "Best of 2018: Television Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  51. ^ Why Is the Golden Age of TV So Dark? The Atlantic
  52. ^ New Book Challenges Myth That TV's New Golden Age Is Just A Boy's Club Hollywood Reporter
  53. ^ Tired of TV's Golden Age The American Prospect
  54. ^ No laughing matter: the rise of the TV 'sadcom'|Television & radio|The Guardian
  55. ^ The End of The Golden Age of Television and Why Content is No Longer King|Christopher Ming Blog
  56. ^ Here's why the so-called Golden Age of TV might be coming to an end - Digital Spy
  57. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n The Great Sci-Fi TV Boom of 2018-The Ringer
  58. ^ a b David Lynch: Even now, in a TV golden age, too hip for the room?-Chicago Tribune
  59. ^ a b c d e Hester, Jere (August 18, 2015). "'Documentary Now!': Bill and Fred and Seth's Excellent Adventure – NBC Los Angeles". NBC Universal.
  60. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trench, Rob (2015-09-24). "10 Best TV Shows from the Golden Age of Television". screenrant.com. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  61. ^ 18 Things You Didn't Know About Rachel Bloom
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  63. ^ Mr Robot creator Sam Esmail: 'The world has become unreliable'|Television & radio|The Guardian
  64. ^ David Fincher|Television Academy
  65. ^ a b c CNN's The 2000s: A Look Back at the Dawn of TV's New Golden Age-The Paley Center for Media
  66. ^ TV Stars Discuss the 'Second Golden Age of Television'|Ashby Dodd
  67. ^ Noah Hawley|Television Academy
  68. ^ The 15 Best Comedies On TV Right Now-CINEMABLEND
  69. ^ Two And A Half Men|Television Academy
  70. ^ a b c d e f Are We Close To A Second Golden Age of TV Animation?-CBR.com
  71. ^ Emmy spotlight: David Milch deserves writing win - Gold Derby
  72. ^ shonda rhimes, queen of network tv, has signed a deal with netflix-i-D
  73. ^ Shawn Ryan: The man behind 'The Shield' - Los Angeles Times
  74. ^ The Trouble With Our "Golden Age" of TV|The New Republic
  75. ^ The Original Son of Anarchy: Meet Kurt Sutter - Rolling Stone
  76. ^ BBC-Culture-We should thank Buffy for today's 'Golden Age' of television
  77. ^ a b c d e f g h i Picheta, Rob (April 25, 2020). "'Parks and Rec,' 'Friends,' 'The Office:' We're in a golden age of TV re-runs. Soon they'll be the only thing on". CNN.
  78. ^ Feature: The golden age of TV|Film|The Guardian
  79. ^ a b c d e f g h i '30 Rock' Is The Most Rewatchable Comedy Of TV's Golden Age
  80. ^ a b c Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele Are Ending "Key & Peele" After This Season-Comedy Bureau
  81. ^ Jane Lynch|Television Academy
  82. ^ Elisabeth Moss is the Queen of Peak TV
  83. ^ Jesse Plemons|Television Academy
  84. ^ Stephen Colbert Won't Save Us, "Game of Thrones" Isn't That Good: This "Golden Age" of TV is a Big Sham-Films for Action
  85. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Faith and the New Golden Age of Late-Night TV-RELEVANT Magazine
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  87. ^ The golden age of TV-The Irish Times
  88. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l How America fell in love with British TV-Telegraph
  89. ^ a b "Making A Case For The '90s, Television's "Other" Golden Age". UPROXX. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  90. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Thoughts on the Aughts: What made the Golden Age of TV glow? - Chicago Tribune
  91. ^ Watch: House Style in the Golden Age of Comedy Central-Indiewire
  92. ^ a b c d e f Disney Channel's Golden Ages-Odyessy
  93. ^ The Golden Age of TV is Now | On Wisconsin
  94. ^ Rugrats Is Coming Back to NIckelodeon-TV Guide
  95. ^ a b There's Nothing on TV Quite Like Yellowstone, but That Will Change|TV Guide
  96. ^ 'Schitt's Creek' Renewed for a Sixth and Final Season - Variety
  97. ^ a b c The 'Golden Age of TV' Has A Lot of People Worried — Here's Why-Fortune
  98. ^ a b c d e f The Emmy Nominations And TV's New Golden Age
  99. ^ The Golden Age of TV is Now | On Wisconsin
  100. ^ a b c New Netflix shows won't return you to golden age of TV drama...
  101. ^ Freak TV: Welcome to the Golden Age of Weird – Rolling Stone
  102. ^ "Bosch season five review". nytimes.com.
  103. ^ a b c How we entered the "second golden age" of TV
  104. ^ America fell in love with British TV-Telegraph
  105. ^ a b to watch: Fleabag, Chernobyl highlight why TV is having another golden age|Stuff.co.nz
  106. ^ Breaking Bad: FX chief regrets passing|EW.com
  107. ^ What Makes a Hit? Why Godless Got the Attention Damnation Deserved - Paste
  108. ^ a b c 'American Idol' And The Golden Age Of Reality Television-TVBlog
  109. ^ Documentary Now!|Television Academy
  110. ^ 23 extremely underrated TV shows you should watch ASAP - Mashable
  111. ^ The new golden age of television - The Week
  112. ^ a b "50 Best TV Shows of the 2010s". Rolling Stone.
  113. ^ a b c d e f g Starner, Nina (July 19, 2019). "The most underrated TV shows of the last 15 years:Looper". Looper.
  114. ^ a b Twin Peaks ushers in the second Golden Age of television
  115. ^ "House". rottentomatoes.com.
  116. ^ How 'Jane the Virgin' Became a Sleeper Hit – Rolling Stone
  117. ^ "10-reasons-you-should-watch-this-10-year-old-show". saturdayeveningpost.com.
  118. ^ The Golden Age of TV is Now|On Wisconsin Magazine
  119. ^ "Why Longmire is so popular with fans". .cinemablend.com.
  120. ^ "The Best TV Shows of the Decade". Goomba Stomp.
  121. ^ Are We Still in the Golden Age of Television?-GeekDad
  122. ^ Even better this time round: The Crystal Maze, Twin Peaks and our golden age of TV reboots
  123. ^ 23 extremely underrated TV shows you should watch ASAP - Mashable
  124. ^ 'So complex, so real': why Rake is one of the best shows on Austrailan TV|Austrailan television|The Guardian
  125. ^ Bloody good TV: how Rake changed Austrailan television: The Conversation
  126. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
  127. ^ Brennan, Matt (May 31, 2018). "The Golden Age of Television Is Officially Over – Paste". Paste.
  128. ^ Ripper Street: TV Review|Hollywood Reporter
  129. ^ Rollig Stone : Rome : Review
  130. ^ How the binge drop led to a golden age of TV characters|Datebook
  131. ^ a b c d 'American Idol' And The Golden Age Of Reality Television-TVBlog
  132. ^ a b c Can We Watch Enough for TV's 'Golden Age' to Last?-AdAge
  133. ^ "The Golden Age of Television: the 50 Best TV-shows of 2010-2019". The Vore.
  134. ^ Rotten Tomatoes
  135. ^ The Good Place Became the Last Great Sitcom on Network TV by Daring Its Audience to Be Better
  136. ^ How TV Became Art-The New Yorker
  137. ^ Hart, Maggie (April 27, 2018). "In the "Golden Age" of Television, Spring Is The New Fall". Instinct Culture.
  138. ^ The Killing: TV Review|Hollywood Reporter
  139. ^ "The Best TV Shows of the Decade, Ranked". IndieWire.
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  144. ^ On TV: Quality comes down to 'The Wire' - seattlepi.com
  145. ^ The 'Golden Age of TV' Has A Lot of People Worried — Here's Why|Fortune
  146. ^ Meet the dramedy queens: the women who built TV's new golden age-The Guardian
  147. ^ a b A Case For The '90s, Television's 'Other' Golden Age-UPROXX
  148. ^ a b c "Making A Case For The '90s, Television's "Other" Golden Age". Uproxx. September 14, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  149. ^ Rolling Stone has come up with the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. My list is a little different. - The Washington Post
  150. ^ Ex-files no longer: Partners once more - Media, News - The Independent
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