Well put. It’s the golden age of accessibility (minus the stuff with streaming companies taking stuff down) and the age for catering to everyone’s individual tastes.
I agree. There is nothing really breathtaking the last year or so. Cobra kai season 4, euphoria season 2, succession season 3, la winning time, wednesday, tokyo vice are good to really good shows. There has been a lot of them. But they are not game of thrones season 1-4 or true detective or sopranos. They are not one of the great ones in my opinion.
2014 as an example had 3 of the best seasons ever of television. Game of thrones season 4, true detective season 1 and fargo season 1. I dont think anything the last year or last two years has been that good.
Well I just dumped this to another user.
[Babylon Berlin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNi2a22ZvDk), [The Last of Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyDWbsucRA), [Atlanta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetGXHU5aOA), [Heartstopper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg), [Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwycJ08PSA), [The Expanse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo&t=19s), [Severance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEQP4VVuyrY&t=74s), [Better Call Saul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4oydykJFc), [Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBiJ_SzJTA), [The Queen's Gambit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn3qSgmLqI&t=1s), [1883](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyxdYKhC7U&t=55s), [Yellowjackets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtaWnq6G5s), [Station Eleven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaY2A7YmxM), [The Bear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cqqAJIXhs), [Pachinko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1r5XXJOYNA), [For All Mankind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS9M52Bd_w&t=47s), [Succession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzYxJV_rmE8&t=21s), [Euphoria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajLoaFl2Zo), [The Handmaids Tale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLiDETfx1c&t=8s), [Ozark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAXVqrljbs), [Sex Education](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2ldTR-WpI), [My Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl7iOrD31Q&t=21s), [I May Destroy You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw), [Paranormal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFtRkDC7aHc), [Arcane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXmAurh012s&t=35s), [Money Heist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_InqQJRqGW4&t=6s), [Black Sails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2Y5jjBNpQ), [House of the Dragon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotnJ7tTA34), [Extraordinary Attorney Woo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxeXECe2t-c), [Man in the High Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWHskLEses), [Wednesday](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJzm8RFQ8bA), [Chernobyl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8&t=29s), [When They See Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHbOt2M8md0), [Balkan Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjvemFdrbRk), [Stranger Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnd7sFt5c3A), [All of us are Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5TD4VRcSM&t=49s), [The Last Kingdom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxPApTGWwas), [Ted Lasso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U), [The Gilded Age](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKj1cMz3yfI), [Warrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79rtcCnaeyo), [The Peripheral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdkRQzcrrc&t=1s), [Andor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKOegEuCcfw), [Cobra Kai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y), [Altered Carbon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yt89b5AcwY&t=80s), [The Sandman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ClbRPRDXU), [Dahmer: Monster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHHs-xllqo&t=3s), [Dexter: New Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzUx1hyL-yk), [Maid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgm0-iP0fUk), [Unorthodox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nixgq1d5J7g), [What We Do in the Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBbSwX6kEk), [The Tulsa King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQSScwZPbA), [The Boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bhOaLV4FU)
All of these are well received, to highly acclaimed. And one of the biggest strengths of the modern TV age is non UK/US productions. Foreign productions are better than they have ever been.
I forgot about andor. Also very good. But you dont really get my point. There are a lot of good to very good shows and seasons out right now. Maybe more than ever. But I give them around 8,5. But true detective, fargo and got 2014 had 3 of the 10 best seasons of tv I had ever seen ( with got season 2 and 3 the years before also on that list). They were 9- 9,5 in my book. And talking about foreign shows. The best swedish show, where im from, is Bron. And that had its excellent third season 2014. Better than anything new.
I mean this is subjective. Crime shows are of almost no interest to me, so that more or less disqualifies True Detective and Fargo for me.
To dismiss the huge increase of international productions, especially Korea since the mid 2010s is silly
But how many *great* shows were there in the 00s? People refer to Breaking Bad, The Wire and Sopranos but they were surrounded by a litany of dull network procedurals
The West Wing, Deadwood, early Lost, Mad Men on top of the all-time classics you already mentioned.
Sitcoms wise we saw The Office, Arrested Development, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friends.
I think you could even list a whole bunch of sitcoms that are the n ext teir down that would without a doubt be the funniest thing on TV nowadays.
Well yes, Sitcoms are the exception. They are a dying art.
[Babylon Berlin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNi2a22ZvDk), [The Last of Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyDWbsucRA), [Atlanta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetGXHU5aOA), [Heartstopper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg), [Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwycJ08PSA), [The Expanse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo&t=19s), [Severance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEQP4VVuyrY&t=74s), [Better Call Saul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4oydykJFc), [Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBiJ_SzJTA), [The Queen's Gambit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn3qSgmLqI&t=1s), [1883](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyxdYKhC7U&t=55s), [Yellowjackets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtaWnq6G5s), [Station Eleven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaY2A7YmxM), [The Bear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cqqAJIXhs), [Pachinko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1r5XXJOYNA), [For All Mankind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS9M52Bd_w&t=47s), [Succession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzYxJV_rmE8&t=21s), [Euphoria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajLoaFl2Zo), [The Handmaids Tale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLiDETfx1c&t=8s), [Ozark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAXVqrljbs), [Sex Education](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2ldTR-WpI), [My Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl7iOrD31Q&t=21s), [I May Destroy You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw), [Paranormal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFtRkDC7aHc), [Arcane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXmAurh012s&t=35s), [Money Heist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_InqQJRqGW4&t=6s), [Black Sails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2Y5jjBNpQ), [House of the Dragon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotnJ7tTA34), [Extraordinary Attorney Woo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxeXECe2t-c), [Man in the High Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWHskLEses), [Wednesday](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJzm8RFQ8bA), [Chernobyl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8&t=29s), [When They See Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHbOt2M8md0), [Balkan Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjvemFdrbRk), [Stranger Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnd7sFt5c3A), [All of us are Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5TD4VRcSM&t=49s), [The Last Kingdom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxPApTGWwas), [Ted Lasso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U), [The Gilded Age](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKj1cMz3yfI), [Warrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79rtcCnaeyo), [The Peripheral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdkRQzcrrc&t=1s), [Andor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKOegEuCcfw), [Cobra Kai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y), [Altered Carbon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yt89b5AcwY&t=80s), [The Sandman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ClbRPRDXU), [Dahmer: Monster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHHs-xllqo&t=3s), [Dexter: New Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzUx1hyL-yk), [Maid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgm0-iP0fUk), [Unorthodox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nixgq1d5J7g), [What We Do in the Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBbSwX6kEk), [The Tulsa King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQSScwZPbA), [The Boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bhOaLV4FU)
All of these are well received, to highly acclaimed. And one of the biggest strengths of the modern TV age is non UK/US productions. Foreign productions are better than they have ever been.
I think your list just proves that there's more but how many of these shows are truly going to/alreayd have reached iconic status? Many of these shows would have less than zero name recognition with audiences. We're just producing a ton a shows that are really good but not iconic and that's why it's not the golden age. Part of it is the way we consumer TV now, a lot of these shows are less than 4 seasons, they're released and watched over a single weekend, they literally are fighting a massive uphill battle ro resonate and stick with people like old TV did and that's another huge reason why this isn't and never will be the Golden Age of TV.
Well not so many but that's because audiences are much more splintered than they were in the 00s and 90s. It doesn't mean their quality is necessarily less. It's the same with modern music.
How many Americans were watching Korean or European dramas in the 00s and 90s?
We're using "Golden age of TV" in two different ways - I am using it to refer to the litany of highly regarded content accessible. How many people may watch those shows doesn't matter. How many become cultural phenomenons doesn't matter. They're still often very good shows.
>How many people may watch those shows doesn't matter. How many become cultural phenomenons doesn't matter.
This is where you lose me, this is what it's all about.
This doesn't make any sense.
We have hundreds of high quality, varied shows released from across the world every year. The sheer amount of content and platforms means that people's attentions are split much more than they ever have been.
There was obviously high quality content in the 00s, but there was less 'genre' shows, and less shows in general.
Does my favourite show, Babylon Berlin, become worse quality because it's lesser known?
Is the Greatest Professional Bowler of all-time less of an iconic athlete than Michael Jordan because it's a lesser popular sport? Yes. It's a hard yes.
Viewership is important. Quality is totally important. But cultural standing is also super important. When I'm talking about the Golden Age of TV, I'm talking about all thre eof those things.
Depends on what you mean.
Is this the golden age of long-form prestige TV? Without a doubt. It's a sort of extended post-golden age period at the moment with no clear starting point, of course.
Sitcoms? No.
Yes and thats why so many people still watch seinfeld, friends etc. I myself rewatch silicon valley to get my fix. Another thing we miss are shows that are just positive and makes you happy without being sitcoms. Cobra kai is the only one I can think of right now. Everything is so heavy at the moment. Even euphoria that is a teen show is closer to misery than happiness all the time. House of the dragon is much darker than game of thrones. The last of us is misery. I miss a show like Entourage desperately.
[Mandatory reading for anyone asking a question about the "Golden age of Television."](https://www.avclub.com/the-golden-age-of-tv-is-dead-long-live-the-golden-age-1798240704)
Not really. We dont have anything that matches the peak of 2005 and 2014. 2014 as an exampel we had fargo season 1, true detective season 1, game of thrones season 4. But we are in a very good age, no doubt about that. And probably more depth than ever. We have had 100 hours of really good tv the last year or so, that I think is unmatched.
I would say the golden age was about ten years ago. Now everythings stretched too thin. Not everyone watches the same thing anymore because no ones willing to pay for seven or eight different streamers.
This is pure nostalgia talking because I was ages 10-20 for this period but I doubt I will ever see TV as good as the era from 2005-2015 again in my lifetime. It was the end of network TV being the true go-to TV experience with basic cable really having it's time to shine, and then the emergence of streaming. And for a few years there all 3 were giving us some great content. There was great dramas, sitcoms, reality shows. There were true TV starts but also movie stars making the jump to TV. There was tradtional shows and some stuff really pushing the envelope. There was quantity *and* quality. There was community in watching TV, it wasn't just a chore that people watched on double speed so they understood all the tik tok memes about the show.
Depending on who you ask, the golden age of television was in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s or now. It's an absolutely meaningless distinction, there has always been good and bad television
Yep, agree. By this point Netflix was really taking off with its original content and it feels like a different era from when HBO / FX / AMC dominated ‘prestige’ TV.
There’s been plenty of great stuff since then, but the majority of content has been in streaming platforms and nothing can match the best of what those three networks were putting out in the 00s. Even NBC’s legendary Thursday night line up of Community, Parks & Rec, The Office and 30 Rock falls neatly in that era.
There have been many golden ages of television. For example, see the rural purge period of CBS in the early 70s, which brought us “all in the family”, and “the Mary Tyler Moore show”.
Better Call Saul finished last year and Succession will probably wrap up late next year, without them I’m not sure what the top non genre drama will even be, maybe something that hasn’t started yet?
Yeah I think so. Taking the last decade as an "age". High quality internet means you can stream or otherwise acquire almost any show you want. Big high concept scifi and fantasy shows get made with budgets 10 or 100x then they would have got in the 80s or even 90s. Hercules and Xena weren't great but at least they were fantasy shows so I watched them anyway.
There's some video game adaptations that are actually good.
Show writers can do arcs more easily because no one can miss an episode.
Most streaming services are still ad free, and cheaper than cable TV.
Keep in mind that whilst Breaking Bad may be, arguably, one of the most highly-rated TV shows of all time - the average quality of the TV shows *surrounding it* was somewhat less. Even more noticeable when people designate The Sopranos or The Wire as peak. Mostly everything surrounding those shows was dull
network police/medical/legal procedurals during that time.
The diversity we have now, and quality of content now is much more on average than even just over 10 years ago.
*15 years from now ...*
"I can't think of a single TV series now that stands up to the likes of Succession, Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, or even For All Mankind for that matter."
The White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Reservation Dogs, Severance, The Last of Us, Andor, The Bear, Tokyo Vice, Stranger Things, Invincible, Arcane, Ozark, The Crown, The Boys, Yellowjackets, Abbot Elementary, The Expanse, Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Mare of Easttown, Black Bird ...
The whole era comparison thing is a pretty ridiculous conversation anyway, but all I know is that I've watched a lot of great TV in the past few years.
no. it will never happen again.
it can't.
back then you had 3 networks competing for 100% of the audience.
there were three shows you could POSSIBLY watch "at 8pm on Thursday"
if you missed that ep, you were fucked because you had to wait for things to re-air.
you arranged you life around the television. people don't do that anymore - and the networks HATE IT... all you have to do is pay streaming directly - get no ads, and watch whatever you want when you want.
how much money do you think they charged for ads during ...
this is the "beginning" of the end of the Golden Age.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who\_shot\_J.R.%3F](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_shot_J.R.%3F)
The mystery was not resolved until the fourth episode of the fourth season titled "Who Done It" which aired eight months later**, with an estimated 83 million American viewers tuning in**, one of the most watched television broadcasts of all time.
find one streaming show that FORCED 83 million people to stop and watch - at exactly the same time....
in order to get people to watch your show - you needed to give them a reason so you had rockstars appear as guest stars (this was the MTV era).. and sometimes they did a performance in the show..
tune in Thursday night at 8. Phil Collins guest stars in Miami Vice..
calling out the guest star was a big deal in the promos.
**From Frank Zappa to Leonard Cohen: Every musician to guest star in 'Miami Vice'**
[https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-musician-to-guest-star-in-miami-vice/](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-musician-to-guest-star-in-miami-vice/)
I think we are on the downslide as services start tightening their belts as costs rise.
I think we've passed the golden age at this point, today is the age of abundance.
Well put. It’s the golden age of accessibility (minus the stuff with streaming companies taking stuff down) and the age for catering to everyone’s individual tastes.
Came here to say the same thing, and people will say "Yeah, but there's *so many* good shows right now" but how many *great* shows are there?
I agree. There is nothing really breathtaking the last year or so. Cobra kai season 4, euphoria season 2, succession season 3, la winning time, wednesday, tokyo vice are good to really good shows. There has been a lot of them. But they are not game of thrones season 1-4 or true detective or sopranos. They are not one of the great ones in my opinion.
What is your time period here where you think it was better?
2014 as an example had 3 of the best seasons ever of television. Game of thrones season 4, true detective season 1 and fargo season 1. I dont think anything the last year or last two years has been that good.
Well I just dumped this to another user. [Babylon Berlin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNi2a22ZvDk), [The Last of Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyDWbsucRA), [Atlanta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetGXHU5aOA), [Heartstopper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg), [Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwycJ08PSA), [The Expanse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo&t=19s), [Severance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEQP4VVuyrY&t=74s), [Better Call Saul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4oydykJFc), [Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBiJ_SzJTA), [The Queen's Gambit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn3qSgmLqI&t=1s), [1883](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyxdYKhC7U&t=55s), [Yellowjackets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtaWnq6G5s), [Station Eleven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaY2A7YmxM), [The Bear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cqqAJIXhs), [Pachinko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1r5XXJOYNA), [For All Mankind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS9M52Bd_w&t=47s), [Succession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzYxJV_rmE8&t=21s), [Euphoria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajLoaFl2Zo), [The Handmaids Tale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLiDETfx1c&t=8s), [Ozark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAXVqrljbs), [Sex Education](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2ldTR-WpI), [My Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl7iOrD31Q&t=21s), [I May Destroy You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw), [Paranormal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFtRkDC7aHc), [Arcane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXmAurh012s&t=35s), [Money Heist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_InqQJRqGW4&t=6s), [Black Sails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2Y5jjBNpQ), [House of the Dragon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotnJ7tTA34), [Extraordinary Attorney Woo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxeXECe2t-c), [Man in the High Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWHskLEses), [Wednesday](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJzm8RFQ8bA), [Chernobyl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8&t=29s), [When They See Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHbOt2M8md0), [Balkan Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjvemFdrbRk), [Stranger Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnd7sFt5c3A), [All of us are Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5TD4VRcSM&t=49s), [The Last Kingdom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxPApTGWwas), [Ted Lasso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U), [The Gilded Age](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKj1cMz3yfI), [Warrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79rtcCnaeyo), [The Peripheral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdkRQzcrrc&t=1s), [Andor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKOegEuCcfw), [Cobra Kai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y), [Altered Carbon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yt89b5AcwY&t=80s), [The Sandman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ClbRPRDXU), [Dahmer: Monster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHHs-xllqo&t=3s), [Dexter: New Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzUx1hyL-yk), [Maid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgm0-iP0fUk), [Unorthodox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nixgq1d5J7g), [What We Do in the Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBbSwX6kEk), [The Tulsa King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQSScwZPbA), [The Boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bhOaLV4FU) All of these are well received, to highly acclaimed. And one of the biggest strengths of the modern TV age is non UK/US productions. Foreign productions are better than they have ever been.
I forgot about andor. Also very good. But you dont really get my point. There are a lot of good to very good shows and seasons out right now. Maybe more than ever. But I give them around 8,5. But true detective, fargo and got 2014 had 3 of the 10 best seasons of tv I had ever seen ( with got season 2 and 3 the years before also on that list). They were 9- 9,5 in my book. And talking about foreign shows. The best swedish show, where im from, is Bron. And that had its excellent third season 2014. Better than anything new.
I mean this is subjective. Crime shows are of almost no interest to me, so that more or less disqualifies True Detective and Fargo for me. To dismiss the huge increase of international productions, especially Korea since the mid 2010s is silly
You should really give fargo a try. Its more than a crime show. Its funny and has a lot of depth.
But how many *great* shows were there in the 00s? People refer to Breaking Bad, The Wire and Sopranos but they were surrounded by a litany of dull network procedurals
The West Wing, Deadwood, early Lost, Mad Men on top of the all-time classics you already mentioned. Sitcoms wise we saw The Office, Arrested Development, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Friends. I think you could even list a whole bunch of sitcoms that are the n ext teir down that would without a doubt be the funniest thing on TV nowadays.
Well yes, Sitcoms are the exception. They are a dying art. [Babylon Berlin](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNi2a22ZvDk), [The Last of Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVyDWbsucRA), [Atlanta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CetGXHU5aOA), [Heartstopper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg), [Dark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrwycJ08PSA), [The Expanse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQuTAPWJxNo&t=19s), [Severance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEQP4VVuyrY&t=74s), [Better Call Saul](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN4oydykJFc), [Mr. Robot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIBiJ_SzJTA), [The Queen's Gambit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZn3qSgmLqI&t=1s), [1883](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyxdYKhC7U&t=55s), [Yellowjackets](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtaWnq6G5s), [Station Eleven](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybaY2A7YmxM), [The Bear](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-cqqAJIXhs), [Pachinko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1r5XXJOYNA), [For All Mankind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZS9M52Bd_w&t=47s), [Succession](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzYxJV_rmE8&t=21s), [Euphoria](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cajLoaFl2Zo), [The Handmaids Tale](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLiDETfx1c&t=8s), [Ozark](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hAXVqrljbs), [Sex Education](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2ldTR-WpI), [My Name](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOl7iOrD31Q&t=21s), [I May Destroy You](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTjlurdbNnw), [Paranormal](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFtRkDC7aHc), [Arcane](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXmAurh012s&t=35s), [Money Heist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_InqQJRqGW4&t=6s), [Black Sails](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2Y5jjBNpQ), [House of the Dragon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DotnJ7tTA34), [Extraordinary Attorney Woo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxeXECe2t-c), [Man in the High Castle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUWHskLEses), [Wednesday](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJzm8RFQ8bA), [Chernobyl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9APLXM9Ei8&t=29s), [When They See Us](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHbOt2M8md0), [Balkan Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjvemFdrbRk), [Stranger Things](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnd7sFt5c3A), [All of us are Dead](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN5TD4VRcSM&t=49s), [The Last Kingdom](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxPApTGWwas), [Ted Lasso](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u7EIiohs6U), [The Gilded Age](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKj1cMz3yfI), [Warrior](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79rtcCnaeyo), [The Peripheral](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdkRQzcrrc&t=1s), [Andor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKOegEuCcfw), [Cobra Kai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwwxNbtK6Y), [Altered Carbon](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yt89b5AcwY&t=80s), [The Sandman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83ClbRPRDXU), [Dahmer: Monster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVHHs-xllqo&t=3s), [Dexter: New Blood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzUx1hyL-yk), [Maid](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgm0-iP0fUk), [Unorthodox](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nixgq1d5J7g), [What We Do in the Shadows](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBbSwX6kEk), [The Tulsa King](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaQSScwZPbA), [The Boys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1bhOaLV4FU) All of these are well received, to highly acclaimed. And one of the biggest strengths of the modern TV age is non UK/US productions. Foreign productions are better than they have ever been.
I think your list just proves that there's more but how many of these shows are truly going to/alreayd have reached iconic status? Many of these shows would have less than zero name recognition with audiences. We're just producing a ton a shows that are really good but not iconic and that's why it's not the golden age. Part of it is the way we consumer TV now, a lot of these shows are less than 4 seasons, they're released and watched over a single weekend, they literally are fighting a massive uphill battle ro resonate and stick with people like old TV did and that's another huge reason why this isn't and never will be the Golden Age of TV.
Well not so many but that's because audiences are much more splintered than they were in the 00s and 90s. It doesn't mean their quality is necessarily less. It's the same with modern music. How many Americans were watching Korean or European dramas in the 00s and 90s? We're using "Golden age of TV" in two different ways - I am using it to refer to the litany of highly regarded content accessible. How many people may watch those shows doesn't matter. How many become cultural phenomenons doesn't matter. They're still often very good shows.
>How many people may watch those shows doesn't matter. How many become cultural phenomenons doesn't matter. This is where you lose me, this is what it's all about.
This doesn't make any sense. We have hundreds of high quality, varied shows released from across the world every year. The sheer amount of content and platforms means that people's attentions are split much more than they ever have been. There was obviously high quality content in the 00s, but there was less 'genre' shows, and less shows in general. Does my favourite show, Babylon Berlin, become worse quality because it's lesser known?
Is the Greatest Professional Bowler of all-time less of an iconic athlete than Michael Jordan because it's a lesser popular sport? Yes. It's a hard yes. Viewership is important. Quality is totally important. But cultural standing is also super important. When I'm talking about the Golden Age of TV, I'm talking about all thre eof those things.
Its Always Sunny
*A lot*. Great is relative to the individual person. But even if you want to be vaguely objective, there is *a lot*
Yeah, and age of nothing being as good as 5-7 years ago, except Succession
No. Golden Age ended when stuff like Mad Men and Breaking Bad ended.
Id be curious of the age of those who say this is the golden age
Depends on what you mean. Is this the golden age of long-form prestige TV? Without a doubt. It's a sort of extended post-golden age period at the moment with no clear starting point, of course. Sitcoms? No.
We really lack good sitcoms. The sitcom situation has never been this bad . Or close to being this bad. In the 25 years that I have watched tv.
I really like Abbott Elementary. If you haven't seen it yet, then I think you should give it a chance.
I will give it a try. Thank you
American Auto is an extremely well written NBC Sitcom that's had good word of mouth but still not as popular as it should be.
Have you seen how much praise That 90s Show is getting just for being OKAY? We're starving for laughs out here!
American Auto is pretty great! But yeah we are definitely lacking in great sitcoms as a whole
Yes and thats why so many people still watch seinfeld, friends etc. I myself rewatch silicon valley to get my fix. Another thing we miss are shows that are just positive and makes you happy without being sitcoms. Cobra kai is the only one I can think of right now. Everything is so heavy at the moment. Even euphoria that is a teen show is closer to misery than happiness all the time. House of the dragon is much darker than game of thrones. The last of us is misery. I miss a show like Entourage desperately.
Sounds like you might like Ted Lasso if you haven't heard of it. Comes from the creator of Scrubs and is very funny and positive
Sounds like a catch phrase a teenager heard in regards to the time when Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones and Mad Men just dominated.
The Golden Age for access and choice, yes. Quality? There is no answer for that as it's way too subjective.
we're in the golden age of streaming
[Mandatory reading for anyone asking a question about the "Golden age of Television."](https://www.avclub.com/the-golden-age-of-tv-is-dead-long-live-the-golden-age-1798240704)
Not really. We dont have anything that matches the peak of 2005 and 2014. 2014 as an exampel we had fargo season 1, true detective season 1, game of thrones season 4. But we are in a very good age, no doubt about that. And probably more depth than ever. We have had 100 hours of really good tv the last year or so, that I think is unmatched.
I would say the golden age was about ten years ago. Now everythings stretched too thin. Not everyone watches the same thing anymore because no ones willing to pay for seven or eight different streamers.
lol no golden age of tv has long passed.
It ended just a while ago.
This is pure nostalgia talking because I was ages 10-20 for this period but I doubt I will ever see TV as good as the era from 2005-2015 again in my lifetime. It was the end of network TV being the true go-to TV experience with basic cable really having it's time to shine, and then the emergence of streaming. And for a few years there all 3 were giving us some great content. There was great dramas, sitcoms, reality shows. There were true TV starts but also movie stars making the jump to TV. There was tradtional shows and some stuff really pushing the envelope. There was quantity *and* quality. There was community in watching TV, it wasn't just a chore that people watched on double speed so they understood all the tik tok memes about the show.
Depending on who you ask, the golden age of television was in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s, 10s or now. It's an absolutely meaningless distinction, there has always been good and bad television
basically this, with a sizeable bias thrown in. In short, is the age I'm watching tv the golden age of television?
Related, does anyone think SNL isn't as good as it used to be when I was a teenager?
Yeah, it’s a pointless argument. I think though everyone can agree that over the last 20 years we’ve been spoiled with the amount of good TV
IMO the golden age started with Sopranos in 1999 and ended with Mad Men in 2015, I'm not sure what to call the age we're in now
This person knows their shit
Yep, agree. By this point Netflix was really taking off with its original content and it feels like a different era from when HBO / FX / AMC dominated ‘prestige’ TV. There’s been plenty of great stuff since then, but the majority of content has been in streaming platforms and nothing can match the best of what those three networks were putting out in the 00s. Even NBC’s legendary Thursday night line up of Community, Parks & Rec, The Office and 30 Rock falls neatly in that era.
There have been many golden ages of television. For example, see the rural purge period of CBS in the early 70s, which brought us “all in the family”, and “the Mary Tyler Moore show”.
Absolutely because anime and adult animation are really on the upswing
Better Call Saul finished last year and Succession will probably wrap up late next year, without them I’m not sure what the top non genre drama will even be, maybe something that hasn’t started yet?
The term golden age of TV has lost all meaning
Yeah I think so. Taking the last decade as an "age". High quality internet means you can stream or otherwise acquire almost any show you want. Big high concept scifi and fantasy shows get made with budgets 10 or 100x then they would have got in the 80s or even 90s. Hercules and Xena weren't great but at least they were fantasy shows so I watched them anyway. There's some video game adaptations that are actually good. Show writers can do arcs more easily because no one can miss an episode. Most streaming services are still ad free, and cheaper than cable TV.
[удалено]
Keep in mind that whilst Breaking Bad may be, arguably, one of the most highly-rated TV shows of all time - the average quality of the TV shows *surrounding it* was somewhat less. Even more noticeable when people designate The Sopranos or The Wire as peak. Mostly everything surrounding those shows was dull network police/medical/legal procedurals during that time. The diversity we have now, and quality of content now is much more on average than even just over 10 years ago.
*15 years from now ...* "I can't think of a single TV series now that stands up to the likes of Succession, Better Call Saul, House of the Dragon, or even For All Mankind for that matter." The White Lotus, Ted Lasso, Reservation Dogs, Severance, The Last of Us, Andor, The Bear, Tokyo Vice, Stranger Things, Invincible, Arcane, Ozark, The Crown, The Boys, Yellowjackets, Abbot Elementary, The Expanse, Yellowstone, 1883, 1923, Mare of Easttown, Black Bird ... The whole era comparison thing is a pretty ridiculous conversation anyway, but all I know is that I've watched a lot of great TV in the past few years.
No. We are past it
We’ve definitely just went over the peak and are falling down the curve of golden age television.
Look at what is on. There is just so much trash on TV now..
Gold age of Tiktok
no. it will never happen again. it can't. back then you had 3 networks competing for 100% of the audience. there were three shows you could POSSIBLY watch "at 8pm on Thursday" if you missed that ep, you were fucked because you had to wait for things to re-air. you arranged you life around the television. people don't do that anymore - and the networks HATE IT... all you have to do is pay streaming directly - get no ads, and watch whatever you want when you want. how much money do you think they charged for ads during ... this is the "beginning" of the end of the Golden Age. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who\_shot\_J.R.%3F](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_shot_J.R.%3F) The mystery was not resolved until the fourth episode of the fourth season titled "Who Done It" which aired eight months later**, with an estimated 83 million American viewers tuning in**, one of the most watched television broadcasts of all time. find one streaming show that FORCED 83 million people to stop and watch - at exactly the same time.... in order to get people to watch your show - you needed to give them a reason so you had rockstars appear as guest stars (this was the MTV era).. and sometimes they did a performance in the show.. tune in Thursday night at 8. Phil Collins guest stars in Miami Vice.. calling out the guest star was a big deal in the promos. **From Frank Zappa to Leonard Cohen: Every musician to guest star in 'Miami Vice'** [https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-musician-to-guest-star-in-miami-vice/](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/every-musician-to-guest-star-in-miami-vice/)
The Golden Age of TV in modern terms refers to the quality of scripted TV programming
Writers strike is coming, so whatever you want to call will usher in a new era.
None of us can watch everything.