# Is genre TV dead or just on holiday?



## Ian (Jun 9, 2019)

It doesn't seem too long ago that things were really buzzing out there. Here in Britain even mainstream broadcasters such as C4 and the BBC were dabbling in fantasy and SF with shows like "Misfits" "Being Human" and "Merlin". Now, with "Game of Thrones" over and "Supernatural" finally cancelled, it all seems to
be winding down. I know these things tend to come in cycles (I seem to recall the eighties as being a particularly dreary, barren time) but anyone have any idea why this should be so? And is there any sign of light on the horizon?


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## Glaysher (Jun 9, 2019)

I don't think there has been a better time to be a genre watcher. There is always something to be watching. On my to watch list right now is Cloak and Dagger, Good Omens, Black Mirror, Agents of Shield and Gotham (I'm UK based) and Jessica Jones will be released soon.

I used to find myself rewatching stuff a lot but now it's hard to keep up with the volume out there.


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## picklematrix (Jun 9, 2019)

Game of Thrones was lucky to get the traction it did, since the budget was extremely hefty. Given that the final season received poor critical reaction, producers may be hesitant to pull the trigger on big investments for the time being. 
The higher ups at the various networks and services are probably more into finding a show that can be described as 'the next breaking bad' or 'the next big bang theory'.
A series was made adapting Terry Brooks' Shanarra books, but it didn't make much of an impression. Same with Legend of the Seeker. I guess Genre TV has missed the mark on a few occasions lately. In a few years time sonething good will come along, hopefully.


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## Jo Zebedee (Jun 9, 2019)

Theres loads on - it’s just on the streaming services rather than mainstream. Good Omens is great and my kids love the Umbrella Academy.


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## The Big Peat (Jun 9, 2019)

I think that if you look at shows that are confirmed as coming in the future - Northern Lights, Wheel of Time, GoT prequels, new stories based on Pratchett's City Watch series, new stories based on Middle Earth, I think maybe the Fionavar Tapestry... there seems to be a very steady flow. And that's just trad fantasy properties; not superheroes, not UF, not Sci-Fi...


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## L.L.Lotte (Jun 9, 2019)

I'm not sure where you are looking but it's clearly the wrong place...

Btw, Supernatural has one more season to wrap up the story, its ending, not cancelled.

I did a count of all the genre shows I watch, including those on break, and there are 38 continuing genre shows that i watch. And that isn't even all the genre shows out there...


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## Ian (Jun 11, 2019)

Clearly there are still genre TV shows being broadcast, but the majority seem tucked away on Netflix and the like. I find this a worrying trend. I suspect the majority of viewers are like myself, i.e. tight-fisted curmudgeons who resent paying out for multiple viewing platforms. Netflix also seem to have an annoying habit of not publishing viewing figures and cancelling shows after big, flashy openings. I wonder if "Good Omens" will still be around in two years time?


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## Ursa major (Jun 11, 2019)

Jo Zebedee said:


> Good Omens


...is also coming to BBC2.

It's a co-production between Amazon Studios and BBC Studios.


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## Jo Zebedee (Jun 11, 2019)

Ursa major said:


> ...is also coming to BBC2.
> 
> It's a co-production between Amazon Studios and BBC Studios.


Cool. I took out a free membership to Prime to see it. It’s very good so far


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## L.L.Lotte (Jun 11, 2019)

The CW has become a large platform for genre shows. A large portion of AMC's recent original shows are genre as well. Neither of them are online only platforms -- although they do offer the ability to watch their services online.  American networks of course, so you UK people have to hope for simulcast screenings on UK network stations.  

I think that might be the real issue here. Not that broadcast TV networks are not showing genre shows, but that outside of the US they tend towards utilizing streaming services as their international platform (probably because it is easy. They only have to deal with one single network for the entire world, not one for every country). You will notice that almost all of these shows are done in partnership with a broadcast network. (for instance, Netflix's Marvel shows were done in partnership with ABC).

And as we can see with Good Omens, the reverse can be the case for shows made outside of the US -- US has to watch it on Amazon -- but even then, the more popular shows can be exceptions. Some of The CW shows are simulcast on the local broadcast TV networks here, not that the majority of people really watch broadcast TV anymore. On Demand services and Netflix/Amazon have already taken over. Even the local stations are working towards becoming streaming services and eventually closing down their broadcast systems. Deny it all we want, but streaming platforms are where the TV industry is heading. Case in point: my own 76-year-old father only switches over to the local broadcast stations watch the news, otherwise he watches Netflix/Youtube using the Nvidia Shield I got him for Christmas a couple years back. Sometimes he doesn't even watch the news, instead choosing to read about it online. I dare say he is not the only one doing this.


On the point of cancellations. It seems to me that, unless the show is on The CW, then it potentially has a higher chance of being renewed on Netflix/Amazon than it does on a broadcast TV.  Take Lucifer for instance. Netflix picked it up when it had been cancelled, they saw the show worthwhile when Fox wanted to get rid of it -- Fox by the way, is the worst network for genre shows -- it's where they go to die. There are plenty of broadcast networks that cancel shows after just one season. From what I've seen, AMC and The CW seem to be the safest broadcast networks for genre shows, with ABC coming in third.

Also, I've noticed in recent years that BBC is really bad for leaving shows in limbo, not "officially" cancelling them, yet never making more episodes. At least the US networks are upfront about declaring their shows cancelled/renewed.

Of course, in saying all this, Netflix just recently cleaned house on all its genre originals. But when you look at it, they are probably ending at the right spot -- forcing a continuation of the stories might result in a drop of quality (I'm looking at you, Supernatural).


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## Anthoney (Jun 11, 2019)

Amazon is spending a billion dollars on it's LoTR prequel.  That's besides the Wheel of Time and Dark Tower shows.  I don't think genre shows are going anywhere.  With the ever increasing number of new shows the are bound to get more specialized.


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## Mr Orange (Jun 12, 2019)

As others have mentioned, I think genre TV is in great shape at the moment. The advent of streaming seems to have created an outlet for getting a lot of less mainstream shows out to a lot of people. in fact, there's more genre TV out there than I have time to watch at the moment - my "to watch" list is getting longer, not shorter


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## Laura R Hepworth (Jun 12, 2019)

I think it rather depends on where you look. The amount of genre TV has always seemed small on major broadcast networks vs regular modern dramas simply because of the volume difference, but it's still always been there. Streaming services though seem to really like genre TV. Amazon also has a new Fantasy/Noir show coming out in August. Carnival Row. Looks interesting. Also, with GoT over I wouldn't be surprised to see quite a number of new ones pop up to fill that void.


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## Laura R Hepworth (Jun 13, 2019)

Netflix has been granted the go-ahead to make several Narnia movies plus at least one series based on the books. So, ya, genre TV is alive and well.


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## Vertigo (Jun 13, 2019)

Ian said:


> Clearly there are still genre TV shows being broadcast, but the majority seem tucked away on Netflix and the like. I find this a worrying trend. I suspect the majority of viewers are like myself, i.e. tight-fisted curmudgeons who resent paying out for multiple viewing platforms. Netflix also seem to have an annoying habit of not publishing viewing figures and cancelling shows after big, flashy openings. I wonder if "Good Omens" will still be around in two years time?


Good Omens is a book adaptation and, as far as I'm aware, Neil Gaiman has absolutely no intention of going beyond adapting just that book. Also, as far as I'm aware, this adaptation has already covered the whole book, so, to answer your original speculation, no, Good Omens will not be around in 2 years time other than re-runs as it is already complete.


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## The Big Peat (Jun 13, 2019)

Vertigo said:


> Good Omens is a book adaptation and, as far as I'm aware, Neil Gaiman has absolutely no intention of going beyond adapting just that book. Also, as far as I'm aware, this adaptation has already covered the whole book, so, to answer your original speculation, no, Good Omens will not be around in 2 years time other than re-runs as it is already complete.



I think you meant to quote Ian, not me


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## Vertigo (Jun 13, 2019)

The Big Peat said:


> I think you meant to quote Ian, not me


You're absolutely right and it's now fixed! I have no idea how that could have happened; your post is at least two away from the one I intended to quote


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## Vince W (Jun 15, 2019)

Clearly, there are a lot of grandiose plans for genre tv at the moment. How well they are carried out is another matter entirely.


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