: Streaming Has Created a New Art Form
Table of Contents
Introduction
Just as cable companies such as HBO, FX, and AMC changed the television industry years ago with a new world of ground breaking programming such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, and Breaking Bad, major streaming services are once again advancing the quality of television programming to the level of a cinematic medium. Netflix and other streaming services are changing the television industry in many ways. Streaming has undoubtedly enhanced the quality of television as an art form, as well as created a new art form that is not quite television and not quite film.
A new creative freedom in the streaming industry and cable has changed the formula of television of the past. Television used to consist of 22 to 44 minute “cycles” in which the same types of comedic and dramatic events took place and were resolved within the set time period. The cycles of television were familiar and ended in a predictable manner that was satisfying to the viewer.
This new form of art is now unpredictable, unsettling, and offbeat.
Main characters can now die regularly and without warning.
Characters can evolve and change throughout a show.
Episode lengths are not mandated by TV time slots
Plot twists are genuinely surprising and even shocking to the viewer.
The ability to watch an entire season at once also allowed sudden and unexpected changes to be made in plots and characters without disorienting the viewer.
Talented directors who otherwise have only made movies are drawn to streaming services for many reasons. Creative freedom and no time restrictions are two things that draw gifted film makers to streaming. The size of the audience and the time limit of a film are two things that do not have to be considered in streaming. Binge watching is changing the storytelling from one episode (30-60 minutes) to one film (90-180 minutes) to an entire season which could be hundreds of minutes (VanDerWerff, 2015). For example, Netflix encourages its directors to think about shows in terms of seasons rather than in terms of episodes. Episodes are now thought of as chapter stops and parts of a whole rather than as standalone entities.
Think about how your favorite show might be like a novel or a play. What are the similarities? Where do they end?
In relation to this, television critics are now being forced to change the way they critique television. If a show is released as one episode per week, it is necessary to critique each episode separately, but, if the show is released as a full season, then the entire season should be critiqued as one entity rather than as separate episodes.
Note that serial publication of novels (publishing parts, usually in monthly installments) began in the 17th century and was quite popular in Victorian England. The most notable serial publications are works by Charles Dickens: The Pickwick Papers, David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Oliver Twist, among others. Think about the effects that a serial publication would have on readers and on the writer. Consider how this similar to the sequencing of episodes of a TV show.
Netflix
In 2011, Netflix outbid HBO and several other major cable networks for the media rights to House of Cards with director David Fincher and producer and star Kevin Spacey. A high-end drama costs between $4-$6 million per episode to create, and Netflix signed a two season, twenty-six-episode deal for House of Cards. This move was called the “biggest gamble in its 14 year history” (Andreeva, 2011). Prior to this, Netflix had been first a DVD rental service and later a streaming service that streamed content created by others. This gamble paid off in spades as House of Cards won Emmys and Golden Globes and would transform the public opinion of Netflix.
After several failed attempts at another hit show with Bloodline and Hemlock Grove, Netflix once again produced a hit with the prison comedy created by Jenji Kohan, Orange is the New Black. This unique and original show was loved by critics and viewers alike, and, like House of Cards, it gave people a reason to subscribe to Netflix.
This began the competition between Netflix and TV networks for original content. While networks had traditionally only created shows based on pilots achieving certain metrics, Netflix offered series creators contracts to an entire season or two rather than just a pilot. In addition, once Netflix approved a contract for a show, the creators had artistic license to develop the show without interference from Netflix. Due to this arrangement, many of the currently most critically acclaimed and popular series were released by Netflix. Once viewers sign up for Netflix to watch one of these popular series, they become hooked into another with Netflix’s suggested program features. In addition, Netflix utilizes user data not only to help viewers find content that would appeal to them but also to help the company determine which genres and types of programming it should create. As a result, Netflix has forced a change in the television industry by giving the viewers the flexibility to watch what they want when that want.
In 2016, Stranger Things premiered, and audiences were instantly hooked on this horror drama set in the 1980s starring Winona Ryder and Matthew Modine. Variety, the leading show business industry publication, calls Stranger Things part of Netflix’s “nostalgia strategy” (Lawson, 2016). The show’s creators, Matt and Ross Duffer, were noticeably influenced by the 1980s. The show contains inspirations from Steven Spielberg and Stephen King with visual references to It, Stand by Me, ET, Poltergeist and The Shining. One explanation for this return to the past in the genre of mystery and horror television is the advancement of technology. Mysteries set in the present time have been made extremely difficult to write due to cell phones, the Internet, location services, and CCTV cameras. The filming techniques, setting, situations, and references to popular culture are all clearly modeled after the films of the 1980s, and the series has received critical acclaim for its homage to the 1980s film genre.
The Duffer Brothers initially wrote a pilot script and a twenty-page pitch book to try to sell the series. They were quickly rejected by fifteen cable networks. The brothers were told that they needed to either turn the show into a children’s show or remove the focus on the children and center the story around the police chief, Hopper. After reading the pilot, Netflix purchased the series in 2015 for an undisclosed amount. With Netflix as the platform, the brothers were no longer limited by the traditional twenty-two episode television format and decided to create an 8 episode “cinematic story” that would create the “feeling of a big movie” (Brinbaum, 2016).
Netflix original programming or as it is called “Netflix Originals” has expanded to include many series, miniseries, and movies. Famous actors who have not been seen in a while are now starring in these originals, and people are subscribing to the service like never before.
No discussion of Netflix and 1980s nostalgia would be complete without the mention of Fuller House, the revival of the 1990s hit Full House, starring characters from the original series, Candace Cameron, Jodie Sweeten, John Stamos, and Bob Saget. According to Symphony Advanced Media, Fuller House is one of the most watched shows on television with 14.4 million viewers between the ages of 18 and 49 tuning in to watch (Busis, 2016).
Amazon & Hulu
Amazon has also been breaking into the original programming game since 2013, and has experienced some recent success with Sneaky Pete, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Romanoffs, Homecoming (starring Julia Roberts), the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which won two Golden Globes in 2018, The Man in the High Castle, The Grand Tour, and Hanna. In addition, in late 2017, Amazon paid $250 million for the rights to The Lord of the Rings which will be turned into a prequal with possible spin-offs projected.
Lastly, Hulu must be included in the discussion of original streaming services. Hulu is off to a slower start when compared to Netflix and Amazon, but Hulu does produce the highly acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale, as well as The Mindy Project staring Mindy Kaling, Shrill starring SNL actor Aidy Bryant, and I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman.
Conclusion
All three streaming services offer enough differences that a die-hard TV fan can justify subscribing to all three. Netflix contains enough reruns of classics, children’s programming, movies, and original programming to make it a first choice in streaming services. Amazon Prime Video comes free with the Amazon Prime shopping service, so a viewer can hardly feel guilty for subscribing. Hulu, in addition to offering current programming that may have been missed when it aired at its scheduled time, is the only service of the three thus far to offer a live TV option, which is ideal for viewers wanting to watch at their convenience and/or “cut the cord” from cable.
Most television and film critics will agree that we have entered into a second Golden Age of Television. Streaming services, most especially Netlix, have elevated television to a new form of cinematic art. We will likely see many more cinematic quality streaming series in the years to come, which will, in turn, raise of the level of programming on cable and network television.
References
Andreeva, N. (2016). Netflix to enter original programming with mega deal for David Fincher Kevin Spacey drama series House of Cards. Deadline. https://deadline.com/2011/03/netflix-to-enter-original-programming-with-mega-deal-for-david-fincher-kevin-spacey-drama-series-house-of-cards-114184/
Brinbaum, Debra (July 27, 2016). ‘Stranger Things’ EPs on season 2: ‘We could explore it if Netflix wanted to’. Variety. https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/stranger-things-season-two-netflix-1201824880/
Busis, H. (2016). Is Fuller House really the most popular show on TV? Vanity Fair. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/06/fuller-house-netflix-ratings
Lawson, Mark. (2016, August). Nostalgic nightmares: how Netflix made Stranger Things a watercooler smash. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/05/netflix-hit-stranger-things-highlights-tvs-trend-for-nostalgia
VanDerWerff, E.T. (2015, July 30). Netflix is accidentally inventing a new art form – not quite TV and not quite film. https://www.vox.com/2015/7/29/9061833/netflix-binge-new-artform
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