So why are these shows not on network. I remember people complained about the violence on ‘24’.
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Writers Strike 2023?
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I don't know about Breaking Bad, but Sopranos seems to have been commissioned by HBO directly by that company, so it was not "put out for offers" to anyone else. HBO commissioned a lot of content in that era, and all was done mostly in a "closed loop" of producers and the like.
I think Breaking Bad was also done to try to bolster the content of a "cable channel", just like Boardwalk, Dexter, Better Call Saul, Walking Dead, Twin Peaks and Deadwood and all the rest.
Maybe for the newer episodes of Twin Peaks as the first 2 seasons of Twin Peaks was on ABC. I know that when they create a show they usually have a network in mind (network or Broadcast) if a network passes on a project then they usually try to sell it somewhere else like Arrested Development was developed for NBC but they passed on the project so Fox picked up the series instead.
Like True Blood and Tales From The Crypt was made specifically for HBO with reruns of Tales from the Crypt airing later on Fox then in Syndication. True Blood recently started airing reruns as of last week on TNT.
Because other networks wanted to also have original programming?
And "people" complain about a lot of things; that means nothing. Was 24 a good show? To a heck of a lot of people, yes. You can find people who complained about the Sopranos. Does that negate anything?
Good shows exist in many places, and it isn't just violence/nudity/drugs et al that make them inherently good or bad.
There are a lot of watered down shows that people watch. That doesn’t make them good. Just because it has a laugh track doesn’t make a show funny.
I think any of these shows could have potentially aired on network tv in a slightly sanitized way. My question would be would the networks have had the patience to air an entire first season, even if ratings were initially low and had the patience to let the audience find the show and grow. We’ve seen broadcast networks incredibly patient with some shows and cancel other shows after 2-3 episodes. What I can’t imagine is the networks having the patience for the creators to finish another season of episodes as there were some long hiatuses between seasons of The Sopranos.
No one said a word about laugh tracks. The Office didn’t have one; it was widely praised. Ditto Modern Family. Likewise, just being able to sprinkle in F words, butts and boobs doesn’t make a show good. And guess what, “good” isn’t somehow universally recognized.
One of the more memorable MadTV sketches from back in that era was when they tried to clean up an hour-long episode of The Sopranos to be aired on religious network PAX TV. A 1 hour episode with the cursing, sex and violence removed was boiled down to about 3 minutes in length:
The reason why a lot of these scripted dramas are not on commercial TV is because there's not enough money to pay the costs associated with those kinds of shows anymore. It began with HBO, that had the budget to invest in scripted shows. But now, when you see the kind of money being thrown at writer/producers for things like Yellowstone, you can see why those kinds of shows will never be seen on free TV. Why would anyone willingly work for less money, when they have Apple, Netflix, and Amazon throwing money at them?
Which brings us to the subject of the writers strike. If there's all this money being thrown around, why isn't it trickling down to the writers? The answer is that some of it is, but it's led to the growth of writer/producers, who control the money and the budget. The free-lance writers don't have the power of the producer, so they want the contracts written differently.
The video streaming world has exploded since the last contract. You can expect that if the writers get more, then everyone else in the food chain will want more, and ultimately that will mean that subscription fees will increase.
Which brings us to the subject of the writers strike. If there's all this money being thrown around, why isn't it trickling down to the writers? The answer is that some of it is, but it's led to the growth of writer/producers, who control the money and the budget. The free-lance writers don't have the power of the producer, so they want the contracts written differently.
The video streaming world has exploded since the last contract. You can expect that if the writers get more, then everyone else in the food chain will want more, and ultimately that will mean that subscription fees will increase.
That money fountain will dry up. They can’t lose money forever.
A writers' strike will wound traditional (broadcast and cable) television, but I don't think such a strike will kill it.
However, if a labor dispute cancels an entire NFL season (from preseason games through the Super Bowl), that could be something that broadcast and cable TV might not survive. The NFL, besides being the most popular fare on television, is also the greatest promotional platform on television to plug upcoming shows.
Without the promotional platform of the NFL, just about everything between September and early February on CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC (and to a lesser extent ABC, as they have a handful of NFL games) will see disastrous drops in viewership
Even networks that don't carry the NFL could be badly hurt: If someone tunes in a program on traditional TV that he/she sees promoted during a NFL game and doesn't like it, he/she could change the channel to a program on a network that doesn't carry the NFL, likes that show, and becomes a regular viewer of that other program.
Take away an entire NFL season, and traditional television could be practically dead.
However, if a labor dispute cancels an entire NFL season (from preseason games through the Super Bowl), that could be something that broadcast and cable TV might not survive. The NFL, besides being the most popular fare on television, is also the greatest promotional platform on television to plug upcoming shows.
Without the promotional platform of the NFL, just about everything between September and early February on CBS, ESPN, Fox, and NBC (and to a lesser extent ABC, as they have a handful of NFL games) will see disastrous drops in viewership
Even networks that don't carry the NFL could be badly hurt: If someone tunes in a program on traditional TV that he/she sees promoted during a NFL game and doesn't like it, he/she could change the channel to a program on a network that doesn't carry the NFL, likes that show, and becomes a regular viewer of that other program.
Take away an entire NFL season, and traditional television could be practically dead.
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Broadcast TV is still driven by reality shows, and reality shows don't depend on writers. You ask how are the networks preparing for a possible strike? Are they banking up some scripts? No, they're looking for more reality shows and events. If they get in a bind, you'll see more sports on broadcast TV. You'll see more game shows. More variety shows. Maybe two rounds of American Idol in a year, as NBC does with The Voice. That's how broadcast will deal with a writer's strike. Because that's how they dealt with the last one.
Huh? You're making no sense.
No. Just no.
NFL is popular. Not a question. But millions of people also care not a whiff about football. The idea the entire TV ecosystem collapses in such an event, which in itself has a near zero chance of happening, is over-the-top hyperbole. It would be a budgetary blow, not the end of the world.
Indeed. And they have a good head start on some of that. CBS already has established Price is Right, and to a lesser extent Let’s Make a Deal, in prime time; order more of those and you’ve got two hours filled. Survivor, Tough as Nails, Amazing Race…heck, another Big Brother, and a huge chunk is done there.
ABC is similar—obviously the Bachelor franchises can fill a ton. They can conjure up more nighttime Wheel and Jeopardy episodes, and push summer shows like Pyramid and Press Your Luck to the regular season. Plenty of time filler there.
NBC…heck, more Password and another round of AGT fills plenty of space.
It’s not just how they got through the last strike, which is certainly true. It’s also how they worked through the COVID delayed TV season to an extent. Obviously some of those shows were impacted, but they were able to use some they had in reserve to plug holes for the time needed.
I agree to some extent. Many women (hint: they are half the population) don't care about football and view it with the perspective of having to deal with hubby's mood after six brews and a losing game on a weekend afternoon.
And not all men are fanatics. Some don't even like the sport. Others find it "okay" and use it as a fill between basketball and other preferences.
So there is a lot of distance between day-in and day-out sports viewing and the Superbowl. Heck, even I watched the "Big Game" (with capital letters) but, then, it was more to see the halftime show and the commercials... although the 4th quarter was exceptionally good watching even for a kid who hid in the ceiling of the school library to avoid having to do football practice in high school
The writers who are that good, however, like the freedom to do those things.
Not necessarily. Read Steven Bochco's "Truth is a Total Defense" about his scriptwriting for shows like NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues. That book is so good that I have read it twice. I'll bet the library you visit often has it or can get it.
I was working at a CBS affiliate when CBS lost the NFL (and a lot of affiliates along wth it). CBS tried to counter-program football with "women's movies"
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