Foreword
I was a latchkey kid. To imply that I was raised by television would be an understatement. TV was my lifeline, my escape from a less than idyllic reality—widowed, struggling single mom; degenerate stepfather; enterprising (drug-dealing) elder sibling. When my brother and I fought, it was for control of our household’s sole color television, a 19-inch RCA with rabbit ears. Who got to watch what and when was a big deal. Back in the early ‘70s, if you missed an episode of your favorite TV show (on 1 of the only 3 broadcast networks—ABC, CBS, NBC), you were devastated. Disconnected.
From the early ‘50s to the beginning of the 21st century, primetime TV was the epicenter of American culture. Monday Night Football, episodes of M*A*S*H and All in the Family attracted audiences of 20 million (a 33 overnight ratings “share”). 40 million watched the All in the Family finale. In today’s multi-platform, mega-channeled, social networking, Snapchatting, niche-defined digital age, 40 million people watching the same program at the same time boggles the mind.
Today, we see the proliferation of streaming, on-demand original series and it all seems to have happened overnight, taking many network power players by surprise. But, from the advent of HBO to the emergence of YouTube, it was inevitable that TV had a digital future. What form it would take is still a matter of debate. Certainly, HBO paved the way with Oz, The Wire, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under and Game of Thrones; followed by Netflix, Amazon Studios, Hulu Originals, Sony Crackle, Vimeo, CW Seed and others; at this writing, every broadcast and cable network is upping their game with more inclusive streaming content; putting a fresh spin on classic genres and formats; shaking up the status quo; embracing diversity; leaning in to controversy; debunking stereotypes; transcending formulaic story tropes; and increasing opportunities for new voices and long-marginalized fringe perspectives.
Revolutions, of course, are led not by corporations but by visionaries. This book is a conversation with the best of them—producers, storytellers, and tech-savvy entrepreneurs who are venturing into the uncharted territory of the digital Wild West, changing not only how TV is viewed, but also how it’s created and distributed. These trailblazers are creating a world in which terms like “new media” already sound old-fashioned; a world in which traditional crime/medical/legal procedural dramas and 3 jokes per page multi-camera sitcoms feel downright nostalgic; a world in which the best on-demand series are akin to novelistic page-turners—daring us to binge view, challenging us to unravel the mystery and excavate the truth while mining the complexities of human nature.
And finally, we the audience command the medium, choosing when, where, and how we watch everything from 6-second videos (“vines”) to serialized streaming dramas that can occupy an entire weekend.
In this rapidly transforming new world, an actual television is irrelevant for anyone under the age of 25. Forget the notion of cable “cord cutting.” For the majority of Millennials and for Generation Z, there is no cord. CBS announced in November 2015 that even their new series of Star Trek will be going cordless—straight to their digital CBS All Access platform—instead of airing on the broadcast network.
Since I began writing this book, the content gatekeepers, conceptual wizards, producers and distributors have no doubt changed the TV landscape even more. This is a fast-moving transformation and there’s no turning back or going against the torrential, changing tide. But that also means that viewers are more exhilarated—and more liberated. We are living in the midst of a creative revolution, and I, like you, can’t wait to see what happens next.