Big TV moments in a breakthrough year
Viola Davis’s historic Emmy and reaching ‘peak TV’ among highlights of 2015
Is there such a thing as too much TV?
Andy Samberg nailed it in his Emmy Awards skit about having to binge-watch a year of television, ending up as a frazzled, filthy hobo after one too many Breaking Bad episodes.
That pretty much describes most TV critics at year end — although most of us try to at least shower in between commercials.
From peak TV, to the rise of online broadcasters and diversity on television, 2015 has been a breakthrough year for the medium. Here are some highlights:
Viola Davis wins an Emmy Davis made Emmy Award history by becoming the first black woman to win Lead Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of a law professor in ABC’s How to Get Away with Murder. Astonishingly, it was a feat that took 66 years.
Peak TV FX Networks CEO John Landgraf coined the term “peak TV” in 2015, forecasting that the number of scripted series would surpass 400 by the end of the year. In fact, the official number hit 409. If you include reality, sports, specials, daytime or children’s programming, that number would double again. That’s an awful lot of choice for viewers, but studies show we watch only a few shows consistently. Like any bubble (hello, condo investors), a correction looms when too few eyeballs for too many shows affects the bottom line for broadcasters. Diversity Never has TV been so diverse with shows such as Fresh Off the Boat, Blackish and Dr. Ken reflecting more fully the ethnic makeup of society. But Empire, Fox’s soap opera about a hip-hop family, blew away the competition with stellar ratings and more than 10 million viewers weekly, proving to TV executives that diversity isn’t about pandering; this is business.
Superheroes The superhero universe remained crowded in 2015, with new entrants such as the much-hyped Supergirl joining shows such as The Flash, Arrow, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gotham. But Netflix set the bar high starting with the gritty and superb Daredevil, finishing the year with Jessica Jones: the best superhero series on TV this year.
Late-night changing of the guard For late-night-TV addicts, it was a tough year. Jon Stewart, the most trusted fake news anchor ever, signed off after 16 years. The acerbic David Letterman left after three decades. That followed Jay Leno leaving last year. The new guard includes Trevor Noah and James Corden, who come with sunnier dispositions but far less insight into the currentaffairs file.
Broadcasting anchor shakeup NBC’s Brian Williams was suspended for exaggerating a story about covering the Iraq War. In Canada, the CBC’s Jian Ghomeshi toppled after an investigation into alleged sexual assault. Power and Politics host Evan Solomon was fired over a conflict-ofinterest charge. At Global, Leslie Roberts resigned over conflict allegations. CBC business journalist Amanda Lang also left the broadcaster under a cloud over conflict allegations, moving to Bloomberg TV Canada. There was a time when a broadcast anchor could be considered the most trusted person in the country. That day was long gone before the shakeup, but it underscored the need for credibility in an increasingly fractured media universe.
TV as art Television isn’t for dummies any- more. The Toronto International Film Festival showcased shows such as Heroes Reborn in a new section dedicated to the medium, showing the blurring of lines between the big and small screens. Much of this is due to the influx of critically acclaimed, darker serialized dramas on cable and online that arguably are more immersive than film, given their 10- to 13-episode arcs. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by Hollywood with major stars and directors flocking to TV including Steven Soderbergh, Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese.
TV carnage When will the killings stop? In the past it was extremely rare to kill off popular TV characters, but produc- ers have amped up their game in 2015. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) on Game of Thrones died an inglorious death (or did he? ), bleeding out into the snow.
Shonda Rhimes decided to run over Dr. McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) with a truck. Personally, I’m still mourning the death of Fish Mooney in Gotham — Jada Pinkett Smith’s best role yet.
Movies to TV Hollywood never runs out of ideas, they’re just recycled. This season saw the return of Steven Spielberg’s futuristic Minority Report as a TV series as well as the Bradley Cooperproduced thriller Limitless. Then there is Ash vs. Evil Dead, a reboot of the Evil Dead films. Still to come is the TV version of the Jackie Chan comedy Rush Hour. This joins Season 2 of Fargo based on the Coen Bros. film and Bates Motel based on Hitchcock’s Psycho.
Online vs. broadcast Online TV upped its game considerably in 2015 with new award-worthy shows from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and Crackle presenting a deep threat to conventional broadcasters. Amazon’s Transparent won the Golden Globe for comedy while Uzo Aduba won outstanding supporting actress at the Emmy Awards for Orange Is the New Black.
The demise of local news No. 11 on our list is an unfortunate bonus. In 2015, local news content came under attack as broadcasters struggled to maintain profitability. Just before Christmas, the private owners of CHCH in Hamilton declared bankruptcy, putting dozens out of work before restructuring days later as a new entity: angering the community over allegations of union busting, which parent company Channel Zero denies.
Media, parent of CTV, chopped 380 workers, including many familiar faces.
Rogers Media slashed 110 employees, including its cornerstone multicultural OMNI newscasts. And the CBC has shortened supperhour newscasts. The loss means Canadians will have fewer options to see their communities reflected in meaningful ways.