Over the past decade, original television shows like “Severance,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus,” “Stranger Things” and “The Bear” have taken the world by storm. These shows are others like them have been praised for their distinctive storylines, amazing visual effects and ability to tackle a variety of niche subjects. As audiences, we’ve come to expect shows like these to be at the same level, if not better, than films we would go see at movie theatres. But television wasn’t always placed on the same pedestal as cinema like it is now.
The first ever television broadcast was in 1928, but at this time television programs were very experimental and were only available to a select few who made enough money to afford a TV set. Television continued evolving into the 1950s, known as the “golden age” of television.
At this point, the price of TV sets fell, so many more people were able to afford them, greatly increasing the amount of TV being watched. When television broadcasts first started, they were treated the same as radio broadcasts. Programs were very simplistic and mainly just involved talking. However, by the ‘50s, television programs began branching out to include more theatrical aspects, which was the start of dramatic anthologies like “Playhouse 90” and “The U.S. Steel Hour.”
Television continued to evolve and went through many different “eras,” including a game show craze, westerns, spy TV and mini-series. However, throughout this 20th century broadcast era, the programs that reigned as the most popular TV series were sitcoms. Each decade had an iconic sitcom that defined the time like “I Love Lucy,” “All in the Family,” “The Golden Girls,” “Seinfeld” and “The Office” leading into the 21st century.
Although these shows were staples of American culture throughout each decade, audiences probably wouldn’t compare them to the blockbuster movies of the time like “Psycho,” “Jaws,” “When Harry Met Sally…” or “Jurassic Park.” Of course, none of these movies fall within the comedy genre of sitcoms, so it is hard to compare them, but I think this is exactly what made people separate television from cinema. Television could be silly, episodic and easy to watch, but movies had to be serious, gripping and a whole cinematic experience. However, these movies also had higher budgets than sitcoms, so this could also be a high contributing factor to audiences having higher standards for films.
The turning point for television shows was the introduction of streaming services. When streaming was introduced, an opportunity presented itself for these services to create original content with much higher budgets than broadcast TV shows. While it was a risk to invest so much in original content, it ended up paying off, drawing more subscribers through the diversification of content that was able to tap into more niches. These shows were able to reach audiences on a global scale, as many streaming services are available across the world and include international shows like “La Casa de Papel,” “Squid Game” and “Lupin.”
As these original streaming shows began getting attention from the public, more money was put into producing similar series, and now streaming services are flooded with high quality shows that can stand their ground against cinematic films. Some of these shows end up taking the world by storm, the most recent examples being Season 2 of “Severance” and the limited series “Adolescence.” These shows demonstrate such attention to detail and originality that they stand out more than many big movies hitting theaters today, most of which are now sequels and adaptations.
Because it’s become increasingly popular to skip the movie theaters to stay at home and watch movies from the comfort of the couch, the success of streaming shows has flourished.
I have been excited about this rise of television because TV provides something that movies don’t: time. Some stories simply can’t be told effectively in a two-hour long film, but TV is able to give a story the time it needs to unfold while still producing it in a high-quality manner. I’m glad that the public is now recognizing that just because content is in the form of a television show does not make it any less cinematic than a movie.
However, I hope that these two mediums will be able to coexist together, and that streaming won’t mean the death of seeing films at the theaters. Movie theaters have been struggling for a while, but they really are the heart of the film industry. I hope such high-quality shows will not begin to replace the movie-going experience.
I also don’t want the new standards and expectations for television to devalue older sitcoms or newer, less serious shows. I think this new appreciation of TV shows is an opportunity to recognize that television has just as much value as movies, regardless of what genre or type of show it is. By celebrating these two mediums as equals, more stories will be able to be told using whatever format works best for them, creating an industry that values all storytelling as cinematic.
