There's going to be a lot less new TV for a while. And that's brilliant.
- Hollywood is facing its first strike by both writers and actors in more than six decades.
- It's going to mean a lot less new television this year, but that may not be such a bad thing.
Most workers don't go on strike for fun. They don't get paid while they're not on the job. And the thing they're employed to produce is not getting made.
In early May, members of the Writers Guild of America went on strike in a dispute with producers over compensation and the threat of AI.
That walkout had already shut down most film and TV production. As of midnight Friday, actors are also on strike for similar reasons, making the first simultaneous industrial action in Hollywood since 1960.
Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer, told Insider he thinks the industry is in for a long shutdown because of how complex and existential the issues are.
If that is the case, there might be a very big silver lining for us viewers: a break from the relentless release of new TV shows.
Believe it or not, almost 600 programs were released in the United States last year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That's up from a mere 420 in 2015.
Trimming that tally could help us to stop being distracted by neverending new releases and finally start making a dent on that watchlist containing dozens — hundreds? — of programs you'd really, really like to watch, but just keep getting pushed further down by the arrival of the latest thing on Netflix, or Hulu, or Disney+, or Apple TV+, or Max, or Paramount+, or Lionsgate+. Even the list of streaming sites seems to keep growing by the day.
I'm going to let you in on my dirty little secret: I've not seen nearly as much prestige TV as I feel like I should have — despite devoting a considerable slice of my leisure time to what we once used to call "the box" over the decades. Maybe I've just spend too much time watching "Drag Race" in all its various forms.
"The West Wing"? Nope. "Breaking Bad," "The Sopranos," "The Wire"? Erm, try again. They're just some of the shows I feel like I ought to have watched. But given those four alone would take literally hundreds of hours to get through, I know I'll be lucky to manage even one (if I had to choose, I think it'd be Baltimore's finest.)
Hell, I haven't even got around to watching "Squid Game," and I'm only three episodes into another Netflix hit, "Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story."
So while it might be a bit frustrating to be facing another pandemic-style delay to your favorite shows, think of it as a golden opportunity to finally catch something your best friend just won't shut up about, or a few that have just bagged a slew of Emmy nominations.
You could even cast your net wider, with say a Nordic crime drama such as "The Killing," or "The Bridge."
And yes, if you haven't yet bitten the "Succession" bullet, then now is absolutely the time. Sign up to Max, and start at the beginning. You absolutely won't regret the investment in your time. Likewise with Donald Glover's often truly astonishing piece of performance art masquerading as television that's also known as "Atlanta." My other tip? "Beef" on Netflix. You're very welcome.