If you are still a little old school or have somehow avoided the Netflix vortex, you don't know what time of year it is: fall season premieres. Over the next couple of week’s America’s favorite prime-time television shows will be returning to our screens. Hearts will be broken, plot twists will be put into action, and the answer to that cliff-hanger will finally be revealed!! Perhaps you were just reminded your show aires next week; maybe you’ve been counting down since the minute it went on hiatus in May. The fact is, our fictional family is about to hit our HD screens for yet another eight months.
But there’s a certain genius behind today’s television shows that you might not realize.
Television writers. They’re insanely talented, funny, and do one thing that nobody in America seems to be able to anymore: bring people together. If you’ve ever dared Tumblr you’ll know what I’m talking about. For “Doctor Who” alone there are hundreds of forums. Fans discuss everything from episode plot flaws to character development. Over at Twitter, Thursdays might as well be renamed Shonda Rhimes day. Between “How to Get Away with Murder,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Scandal,” there’s not much time for anything else. Somehow a room of 12-20 people manages to create an hour of entertainment that touches people all over the nation, not to mention the world.
I mean, just look at the numbers. In it’s first seasons on the air, “Friends” averaged upwards of 24 million viewers. That’s 24 million people who either agreed or disagreed Ross and Rachel were “on a break” (which they weren’t, I might add). To look at a more recent show, ABC’s “Castle” brings in more than 10 million viewers per week. That’s enough people to fill Dodger Stadium more than 173 times. Sure, events like Monday Night Football, MLB games, and March Madness draw significant numbers, but they’re live sporting events. You just have to sit back and enjoy the game. TV, on the other hand, demands talented writing, authentic acting, and complex/unique plots.
And not just any pilot makes it to season eight.
Under strict time limits (20 minutes for a half-hour show and 42 minutes for an hour-long show), TV writers develop characters and relationships that we become more invested in than our own. Why else would we spend a week isolated from the world to binge watch “Orange is the New Black,” if not for the characters? I myself almost cried when Christina and Meredith shared their last 30-second dance party. And just imagine if America were as invested in voting as we were in the Olivia, Fitz, Jake love triangle. We might actually get something done on The Hill!
All in all, TV writers have the power! Just ask the fandoms. Whether they kill off our beloved McSteamy (followed by McDreamy’s head-on collision), bring a couple together (finally), or tear them apart (no!), there’s no doubt that small room of people deserve some major props (no pun intended). So next time you go to Twitter and rant it out, give a quick thanks (or not so much thanks) to the people behind the script. They deserve it!
