DRAMA: What's the Future of TV Without it?

You may have heard that ABC's Modern Family saved the sitcom drought or that CBS's "The Big Bang Theory" and "How I've Met Your Mother" are always at the top of their games, but many want to know what is going on with the drama. I read an interesting article in the recent issue of TVGuide Magazine that talks about the future of drama's on broadcast television. Over the past couple of years, drama on TV was a success. A month into this years TV season, none of the major networks are producing "buzzed" about dramas. Shows such as, Terra Nova, Revenge, and Person of Interest are all doing ok in ratings, however it still isn't enough. Many of the aging shows, for example, Grey's Anatomy, CSI,  House, Law & Order:SVU, are hitting series low ratings and are being DVRed or watched at a later time. This season, more drama's have been cancelled than comedies. So are we at risk for a network drama drought?

We have cable to thank for the slip. Cable networks have been stealing the drama away from broadcast. According to the TV Guide article, last year approximately 230 drama pilots for the networks had been purchased while this year the number stands at 170- a 26 percent drop. Network execs will be producing fewer dramas for the following TV season.

Viewers are leaning more towards laughs this season more than anything. Fox's New Girl, and CBS's 2 Broke Girls have been picked up for full seasons. Even Modern Family has reached a new high in its ratings. Even some major drama show runners are developing sitcom pilots. Glee creator, Ryan Murphy, just sold a half-hour comedy to NBC, according to TV Guide Magazine. He feels as if viewers would be happier if there were more light hearted programming out in television. The comedy low is now on a comedy high. But why is drama facing these challenges? Maybe its because too many are being copied.

Cable vs Network Drama's are always competing against each other. Cable has a show that dominates the Emmy Drama Category called Mad Men. The networks picked up on it and shows like "Playboy Club"(which has been already cancelled) and  ABC's Pan Am, have a "Men Men" feel. Are we getting tired of seeing the same old things? They're are way to many spinoffs of CSI, Law & Order and NCIS, even some are trying to capture the soapy style plot the Desperate Housewives has captured for the past 8 years. Too much is too much.

We must look to what midseason can bring in terms of dramas. It's uncertain that we are facing a drama crisis but let's keep our fingers crossed that there won't be a drama drought, if anything we must switch to cable.