If you spent a good chunk of the pandemic watching TV, you weren’t alone. TV viewership saw huge jumps, with daytime viewing hitting levels previously only seen on the weekend. And alongside those viewership changes were changes in production.
After everything the industry has gone through in the last year, what will TV look like after the pandemic?
Increasing Costs Lead To Simpler Production
Movies often take months or years to produce, but TV typically works on schedules of weeks or months. The shorter production time allows for more agility in responding to COVID cases and changes, but also creates problems when sudden delays occur.
Almost all TV production was shut down for months at the height of the pandemic. Once things started filming again, there were major changes. Sets are typically divided into zones, with actors working on the most protected set, and other zones consisting of extras or production staff who can more easily social distance. Sets have also implemented additional safety measures, including regular COVID tests and temperature checks, a full medical staff on set and personal protective gear for the entire crew.
All of those increased safety measures lead to a major increase in production costs, typically 10-20% of the show’s budget. That accounts for an additional $200,000-$300,000 per sitcom episode, up to $500,000 extra per drama episode. To make up for the additional costs, most networks are cutting the number of shows per season with the idea that creating fewer episodes will equal the time and cost of a traditional season. CBS, for example, cut most of its shows down from the typical 22 episodes a season to 16. But with fewer episodes comes less advertising revenue.
How TV shows look is also affected by COVID. Some series, including 911, Grey’s Anatomy and This Is Us incorporated COVID into their storylines. But all shows include fewer scenes shot on location, fewer costume changes, fewer extras and less physical touch between actors.
Changing Schedules And Lineups
Networks have slowly been able to keep content coming during the pandemic, but longer production has impacted adding new shows. The number of original scripted TV series across broadcast, cable and streaming services dropped in 2020 for the first time in more than a decade.
The changes in production schedules, delays and show cancellations have greatly affected the pipeline of incoming content. With limited crews, virtual writers’ rooms and increased production costs, fewer pilots and new shows are being made. Most networks aren’t willing to take the risk of ordering a new show based just on the cast and script.
The TV calendar is also changing. Instead of the traditional fall and spring TV seasons, networks are moving towards a year-round approach to fit content in whenever it is ready and to match the year-round release schedule of streaming content.
Future Of The Television Industry
Changes to sets and production standards could be lasting as networks look to cut costs and keep crews safe. In doing so, American TV loses the advantage of its traditional high production value, which some experts predict could open the door for increased international content. Some shows, including Lupin from France, have already gained strong audiences via streaming, and that trend could continue.
The future will also bring an increase in animated content aimed at adults. Networks like Comedy Central and Fox Entertainment were moving towards adult animation pre-COVID, but the ability to safely and consistently produce animated content is an advantage moving forward.
The pandemic has also pushed many networks further away from scripted programming. E! and Bravo are now focused almost exclusively on unscripted shows, and other networks are dramatically cutting their scripted programming in favor of reality-style shows that are less expensive and easier to produce.
Production is also slowly starting to regain speed. In New York, around 40 TV shows were shot in April 2021, which is back to pre-pandemic levels. Things are also getting back to normal in Los Angeles and Georgia, the country’s other two large production hubs.
But even as production resumes around the world, the backlog will be felt for years to come.
TV became an escape for many people during the pandemic. But now that escape is evolving into a more fluid industry. We’ll always have TV, but what we watch and when may be forever changed.
The pandemic showed how much TV and movie content matters to consumers. But as the industries change, how people consume content and what they watch will also forever be changed.
Source: forbes.com
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