Most of the time I find social media exhausting. From its conspiracies to its angry commentary, to its world ending mantras and unhealthy obsession with Taylor Swift, I’m tempted to check out of it altogether on most days. Then occasionally I find something that piques my interest. One of the recent things that did this is a tweet with the headline “The top streamed shows are almost all old. Why?” This tweet made me start to think, and wonder, what are the popular streaming TV shows now?
We all know that Suits is one of the most popular acquired (by Netflix) shows of 2023. It did break records and even, in some cases, beat Netflix originals many love. Original from USA Network, Suits made its debut in 2011 before ending in 2019 and follows the exploits of a cocky lawyer Harvey Spector, his loyal assistant Donna, and Harvey’s associate, Mike. But beyond this popular show, what else, that isn’t from recent years, is making waves in the streaming world?
THE TOP-STREAMED SHOWS ARE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS OLD AND THE INTERNET ASKS WHY? #Streaming #TVShows #Suits #NCIS Click To Tweet
Sparked by this article, we’re looking into just this. According to the aforementioned article and to Nielsen, in minutes by “more than 57 billion” did viewers spend watching Suits, “a legal drama that premiered 12 years prior.” Some of the top streamed shows, according to the article’s research are as follows. NCIS (a 2003 debut still running); Grey’s Anatomy (2005 debut still going); Gilmore Girls (2000 – 2007); Friends (1994 and ending in 2004); and in the ninth spot is Heartland a family drama that started in 2007 and is still running.
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We have to ask and wonder, why are these shows popular and making trends? There are still shows in production today though perhaps not in as large a number, they are still making them, which makes me curious as to why do we prefer what some would call “old” TV shows? According to users in response to the tweet, “you know why” is the answer and for others it’s because the older shows were “designed to entertain” and newer ones push agendas. Then one user replied, “Because there was this thing called ‘the golden age of television’, and the streaming boom killed it, and new shows aren’t as good.”
I think some combination of these answers is right. TV shows did tell better stories. USA Network, which walked away from scripted TV, once had this “golden age,” if you will, lineup of TV shows that were good. They had compelling stories and interesting plots. We invested so much into them because of how good they were. But by watching TV shows, even from the past, they still push agendas. I think also another fact is such a thing as an age when actors cared more about their craft and telling a story. I’m not sure everyone wants to care today outside of their names being in lights and getting famous quick.
Another reason users replied is viewers have zero interest in investing in a show that only gives one or two seasons, and sometimes very few episodes in a season. The shows currently most popular have multiple seasons from seven up to even 20. The article touches on Meghan Markle starring in Suits as a draw, which is fair since she often trends. They also note that the death of Matthew Perry in 2023 could spark an interest again in Friends combining with the writer’s and actors being on strike for the latter half of 2023.
Neilson also ranks the top ten original shows though none made the minutes viewed (in billions) mark that the most streamed (aka acquired) TV shows did. Ted Lasso is the top spot with 16.9 while The Lincoln Lawyer rounds out the list at 11.8.
I’m not sure what the phenomenon is for these older shows consistently taking top streaming spots, even if they are still airing like NCIS. While I think we should attribute some to star power or lack of new fall premieres, I think some credit should needs to go to better storytelling, too. We don’t tell stories in the same way some of these shows did. The setups, the structure, the methods, it’s very rarely the same, and the older ways are just, well, better. Whatever the reasons are, I just hope this indicates that someone takes notice, and remembers we like good storytelling in our TV shows. Some is exhausting. Other is just bad. So seeing an influx of good storytelling would be the greatest result of these stats.
How many of these have you seen? Do you watch any of these popular streaming TV shows? Would you? Which ones do you still want to watch? Which ones do you love to see become popular again? What is your best example of a good TV show? Comment it all below!
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