Is Creative Television F*cked?

I have watched year after year as great television is shoved aside in favor of simpler, more accessible programming. I never really wondered why this was because the answer is very simple, but I can't help but feel extremely disappointed in that answer. The short of it: The average television viewer watches TV to be entertained, but often as a way to escape from reality. They want something they can just sit down in front of, turn their brain off and enjoy. The only problem I have with that is how encouraging it must be for any network to take the easy way out and pick up programs such as Two and a Half Men, According to Jim, or Outsourced. You may be saying at this point "but Two and a Half Men is smart and hilarious!" - While it can be funny at times, it is not a smart show. Is it easy to watch? Is it something that can take you away from a bad day and make you laugh for 22 minutes? Absolutely it is, and that's why the show gets the 14 million viewers that it does every week.

Simple TV for the most part does exceptionally well in the Nielsen ratings. That's a fact and isn't something that is ever going to change. This is the reason why so many networks are overflowing with reality TV. It's cheap, and very easy to produce... oh and it brings in massive viewership which means excellent advertising revenue. American Idol averages around 30 Million viewers per episode, and is often on two or three times per week. It's the smart and obvious choice for a network, but diminishes the chances for something original to sneak in and have a fighting chance of survival. 



7 Million Viewers



The point I am trying to make here is that it almost seems like programs are being punished for doing something new or creative. Look at a show like Pushing Daisies for example. It was a fantastically original show that never had amazing viewership and was never advertised properly. The shows first season was cut short and Pushing Daisies almost faced immediate cancellation. Thankfully it was picked up for a second season, but the ratings were abysmal and it eventually met its demise. What baffles me is that a show with such unique style can't survive, but there are THREE variations of CSI on every week.





30 Million Viewers



Now take American Idol. A show that requires very little writing talent, and costs a fraction of what Pushing Daisies does to produce but brings in four times as many viewers per episode. This brings me back to what I was saying earlier about how people want simplicity in their TV shows, which is exactly what reality television offers. I'm not complaining about the fact that people enjoy this type of television; actually I understand completely. It's just that creativity in television and even movies to some degree, seems like it is often doomed from the start.

I understand and accept the choices that networks make when it comes to their programming. It's just so upsetting to watch as shows with such creative potential fail and are replaced with reality shows or rehashed versions of something that has already been done to death. The way things are going right now, Creativity in television really does seem f*cked.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to voice your opinions in the comments section below.

Benjamin Garrett