We are Living in a Golden Age of Television

The 70s are often declared the golden age of film...

16:23 20 April 2016

The 70s are often declared the golden age of film, what with The Godfather, The Deer Hunter, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner, Alien, Star Wars, Carrie, Taxi Driver, Jaws, The Shining and countless other incredible films being made. In the 60s we were in the golden age of music, with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Simon and Garfunkel, and, the immortal, Bob Dylan. The 80s and 90s are often described as the golden age of publishing with writer superstars Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie, Martin Amis, and the like all creating masterpieces. Well, I believe we can add the 2010’s to that list: we are currently living in the golden age of Television programmes.

 

What

Everywhere you look nowadays there is a new hit television show. Everyone’s watching it, it’s winning all the awards, and it’s making its stars more famous than presidents. Whether it’s continuing classics like Doctor Who or new powerhouses like House of Cards, there’s so much choice that people are literally wasting entire days watching shows. The aforementioned Salman Rushdie even said that TV is the new film … and I’m starting to think he has a point. Just look at the below list of a few that spring to mind and then try to refute the golden age status of this time:

·        Breaking Bad

·        Game of Thrones

·        Sherlock

·        Transparent

·        Arrested Development

·        Broadchurch

·        Peaky Blinders

·        The Walking Dead

·        Daredevil

·        Gotham

·        Grace and Frankie

·        And so, so, so, so much more

 

Why

Streaming services. To compete for the rights for the biggest shows being shown on TV, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video started pouring funds into original programming which has ultimately culminated in an oversaturated (not a bad thing) market, meaning all of the major players are spewing out countless incredible TV gems, without the shackles and rules of places like the BBC and HBO (who, of course, are still creating incredible programming themselves to compete with the streaming services).

 

Where

Like I said, Netflix and Amazon are at the forefront of this TV revolution, however there are still the classics like Sky and Virgin, click here for contact info so you can hook yourself up as well as new players like Hulu which offer a similar services to Netflix, but also stream shows the next day after they are released.

 

What’s Next

I shudder with anticipation at what’s to come. I think we will see an increase in shows still, and different shows at that. I think this current boom has proven that people don’t just want the same rehashed stuff, but they want variety and originality. I also think there will be an increase in TV shows being incorporated into so-called ‘Cinematic Universes’. Marvel has started it and DC is moving into it, but I think there will be many more. Who know, perhaps we’ll get a thrilling James Bond TV show or (I would sell my grandmother for this) a Star Wars, live action show!!!

 

 

The future is looking bright and this golden age doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon!