The Golden Age: Is there just too much TV?
Do you want to laugh with Aziz Ansari on Netflix's "Master of None?" Or maybe get engrossed in "Transparent" on Amazon Prime, or perhaps binge-watch "Breaking Bad" because you still need to know what all the hype was about?
Yes, television (if we can still even call it that) offers viewers what seems like unlimited options, leaving even the most avid of TV watchers questioning if there's enough time in the day to take in their favorite shows.
It all begs the question: Is there too much TV?
This year, according to estimates from FX Networks, the United States will produce 400-plus original scripted series. That's up from a then-record 371 in 2014. And just imagine: Only six years ago there were only 211 scripted series created.
In August, John Landgraf, CEO of FX, sent waves throughout the TV industry when he stated that he believes there are just too many TV shows being produced.
"This is simply too much television. My sense is that 2015 or 2016 will represent peak TV in America, and that we'll begin to see declines coming the year after that and beyond," he said during the Television Critics Association summer tour.
"He's like, the bubble isn't going to burst, but it's going to start leaking just because the numbers aren't sustainable," TV critic Alan Critic told CBS News.
It was a surprising remark, especially coming from a seasoned TV exec, whose network makes money on producing such hits as "American Horror Story" and "Louie."
About a month later Landgraf maintained his stance during an interview at The Edinburgh International Television Festival, a partnership with Bournemouth University and The Guardian.
"I'm sensing a little bit of a malaise, to tell you the truth," he said, adding, "There's this other notion that you reached something called the paradox of choice, which is you give people too many choices and it breathes discontent because ultimately it's very hard to pay attention to all the choices. It becomes work to sort through every opportunity that you're giving them. So you get this vague sense of malaise that even when you're watching something great there could be something greater that you're not watching."
Not everyone, though, thinks we're approaching "peak TV" or that TV lovers are close to burning out -- at least not yet.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak (a research company), acknowledges there's more content than ever before, but he doesn't expect the bubble to burst any time soon.
"Everybody thinks we're going to burn out on everything and obviously there's so much content out there, I guess you could as an individual, but there are enough people who are not burned out on it and they're going to keep the wheels greased and keep the money flowing and to keep the content going and to keep it created," he said.
Plus, the wide variety available today has opened up doors for shows like "Transparent" to hit the mainstream.
Still, Sepinwall says creators can't just throw anything together and expect it to resonate with viewers.
"It just can't be some variation on something someone's done 50 times before. It has to have a specific point of view. It has to have characters who pop. It can have interesting serialized storytelling but it doesn't have to. You look at something like 'Louie' -- like one week he's got three sisters, and one week he's only got a brother. There's no continuity whatsoever. It's just a really good show," he said. "You just need to have passion and someone trying to do something as opposed to a formula that works and we're going to do a tiny little variation of it."
Formula or not, as we close out the year and look ahead to 2016, expect even more scripted series available at your fingertips as more shows enter the ever-expanding fray.
For more, check out the video above.