Can’t we just let shows end? I don’t watch a lot of current television but I feel like many of these programs are starting to go on forever even if the quality is declining. Many of the older sitcoms I watch had a lifespan of 8-10 seasons at the max, new ones seem to be going on ad nauseum.
Not a big fan of AI but I must admit it was a better alternative to a lot of the sitcoms that filled the same time slot. I assume it will not return in the exact same format, either. (The post-Cowell versions certainly had a different vibe already).
Actually, I think popular TV shows use to go on much longer than they do now. The TV version of
Gunsmoke lasted 20 years, from 1955 to 1975. If you count the radio version the entire run was 32 years! (Though I’m not sure I would, Sherriff Dillon is much more cynical, and Miss Kitty much more obviously a “scarlet woman” in the radio show compared to the TV version.)
Not to mention the many daytime “soaps” that went on for decades, though most have hit the bin at this point. The British soap
Coronation Street has been running for decades as well, there’s only 1 original cast member still left.
I have noticed though that many of the “new” TV shows these days are actually remakes, such as the
Hawaii Five - O and
MacGyver remakes. Or are very unoriginal in their premises,such as Hannibal and Gotham or
Bates Motel, all can be said to be based on the movies featuring the same characters.
I also find the enduring popularity of Sherlock Holmes in its many incarnations (including
House, MD) to be somewhat ironic, as many of the original stories are extremely offensive to modern sensibilities. I assume “The Yellow Face” will never be dramatized.in the US - even though it was likely considered “liberal” at the time. And I can think of a number of stories that involve Holmes making use of ethnic profiling.