Congratulations and goodbye, Peak TV
As members of the cast of “Succession” marched to the Emmy stage Monday night to pick up their statues for the show's final season, they used it as a final opportunity to say goodbye.
Kieran Culkin, after kissing his co-star Brian Cox on the lips, gave a tearful speech as he collected the award for best actor in a drama. Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook, who each also won acting awards, paid loving tributes to the other cast members. And Jesse Armstrong, the creator of “Succession,” closed the night by accepting the best drama award for the third and final time, noting, “We can leave the stage now.”
It all underscored the end-of-era feeling at Monday night's Emmy Awards. “Succession” was one of several nominated shows with farewell seasons, joined by a list that included “Ted Lasso,” “Better Call Saul,” “Barry,” “Atlanta” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'.
But that wasn't the only reason there was an elegiac theme on Monday night. In many ways, the ceremony felt like a bookend to the so-called Peak TV era itself.
From 2010 through 2023, the number of TV shows in the United States increased almost every year, reaching 599 scripted TV shows last year.
It may never reach these heights again.
For more than a year, studios and networks – including streaming giants like Netflix, cable giants like HBO and FX, and broadcast channels – have been pumping the brakes on ordering new series. Executives, worried about money draining from their streaming services, customers cutting the cord and a weak advertising market, have instead placed more emphasis on profitability. The months-long strikes by screenwriters and actors last year also contributed to the delay.
With a more frugal approach, there is widespread fear throughout the sector about the consequences of a contraction.
The Emmy nominations submission list provides a snapshot. The number of dramas submitted by networks and studios for Emmy consideration fell 5 percent, according to the Television Academy, which organizes the awards. Submissions for limited series were down 16 percent, and for comedies they were down 19 percent.
At the afterparties on Monday night, there was a lot of anxiety about how much thinner the lineup was likely to be for the next Emmys.
Some genres of television seem to be in some degree of danger. Limited Series – Six- to 10-episode shows that became a sensation over the past decade, especially after the 2014 debut of “True Detective,” the 2016 premiere of “American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson' and the start of 'American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson' in 2017's Big Little Lies” – were a hallmark of the Peak TV era. The shows were notable in part because of the big stars and the generous budgets involved.
At the 2021 Emmys, the statue for Best Limited Series was the final award presented. This had long been a designation for best drama, and it meant that the organizers recognized that the category had become the most prestigious award in television.
Not anymore.
As part of programming cuts, executives now see significantly less benefit in committing lavish resources to a show that ends after a few weeks.
Once again, investing in series with many seasons is a much bigger priority. And there is a good chance that television will look a lot like television from a few decades ago.
Executives at Max, the Warner Bros. streaming service. Discovery, formerly known as HBO Max, are looking for a medical drama. “Suits,” a 2010 legal procedural from the USA Network, became an unexpected streaming hit last summer after millions of people started watching reruns of the show on Netflix. “Next year you'll probably see a lot of lawyer shows,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at an investor conference last month.
For example, Hulu recently ordered a project from star producer Ryan Murphy that will chronicle an all-female divorce law firm.
Of course, quality television from the Peak TV era will not disappear. “The Bear,” the best comedy winner and already the runaway favorite for the next Emmys, returns. Also returning are “Abbot Elementary,” the beloved ABC sitcom, and “The Last of Us,” HBO's hit video game adaptation that won a slew of Emmys.
Even the origin story of “Succession” seems tailor-made for the new era of television. When HBO executives ordered the series, they wanted to put their spin on a classic television genre – a family drama – but had low expectations. The show didn't have a budget like “Game of Thrones” or “Stranger Things.” It was light on the stars. Armstrong was not yet a brand name. And yet it became a hit.
When Armstrong was asked at a press conference less than an hour after the end of the Emmys what his focus would be next, he demurred.
Instead, he thought about the past.
“I don't expect this group of people to ever be repeated,” he said, on “Succession.” “I hope to continue doing interesting work for the rest of my life. But I feel pretty comfortable with the feeling that I may never be involved in something this good.”