As members of the “Succession” cast took the Emmy stage Monday night to take their statue for the show's final season, they used it as a final chance to say goodbye.
Kieran Culkin, after kissing his co-star Brian Cox on the lips, gave a tearful speech while accepting the award for best drama actor. Matthew Macfadyen and Sarah Snook, who also won acting awards, paid loving tributes to their co-stars. And Jesse Armstrong, the creator of “Succession,” capped the night by accepting the award for best drama for the third and final time, noting, “We can now leave the stage.”
All of this marked an end-of-era feel at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. “Succession” was one of many nominated series that had farewell seasons, joined by a list that included “Ted Lasso,” “Better Call Saul,” “Barry,” “Atlanta” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” ”.
But that wasn't the only reason Monday night had an elegiac theme. The ceremony felt in many ways like the end of a book from the so-called Peak TV era.
Almost every year from 2010 to 2023, the number of television shows increased in the United States, reaching 599 scripted television shows last year.
I may never reach those heights again.
For more than a year now, studios and networks (including streaming giants like Netflix, cable stalwarts like HBO and FX, and broadcast networks) have put the brakes on ordering new series. Executives, worried about their streaming services draining cash, customers cutting the cord and a weak advertising market, have put more emphasis on profitability. Months-long strikes by writers and actors last year also contributed to the slowdown.
With a more frugal approach, there is widespread fear across the industry about the consequences of a contraction.
The list of Emmy nominations offers a snapshot. The number of dramas that networks and studios submitted for the Emmy Awards fell 5 percent, according to the Television Academy, which organizes the awards. Admissions for limited series fell 16 percent and comedies fell 19 percent.
At Monday night's after-parties, there was considerable angst over how slim the lineup for the upcoming Emmys was likely to be.
Some television genres seem to be in a certain degree of danger. Limited Series: Six- to 10-episode shows that became a sensation over the past decade, particularly after the 2014 debut of “True Detective,” the 2016 premiere of “American Crime Story: The People vs. OJ Simpson” and the 2017 debut of “Big Little Lies” have been a hallmark of the Peak TV era. The shows were notable in part for the big stars and generous budgets involved.
At the 2021 Emmys, the statuette for best limited series was the final award given. This had long been a designation for best drama, and it meant an admission by the organizers that the category had become television's most prestigious award.
Not anymore.
As part of the programming budget cuts, executives now see significantly fewer benefits in deploying generous resources on a show that ends after a few weeks.
Once again, investing in series with many seasons is a much higher priority. And there's a good chance that TV will start to look a lot like TV from a couple of decades ago.
Executives at Max, Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming service formerly known as HBO Max, are looking for a medical drama. “Suits,” a 2010s legal show on USA Network, became an unexpected streaming hit last summer after millions of people began watching reruns of the show on Netflix. “Next year, we'll probably see a lot of lawyer shows,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said at an investor conference last month.
To wit, Hulu recently commissioned a project from star producer Ryan Murphy that will chronicle an all-female divorce law firm.
Of course, quality television from the Peak TV era isn't going away. “The Bear,” the winner for best comedy and already the big favorite for the next Emmy Awards, will return. Also returning are “Abbot Elementary,” the beloved ABC comedy, and “The Last of Us,” the hit HBO video game adaptation that won a slew of Emmy Awards.
Even the origin story of “Succession” seems tailor-made for the new era of television. When HBO executives ordered the series, they wanted to put a spin on a classic television genre, a family drama, but they had low expectations. The show didn't have the budgets of “Game of Thrones” or “Stranger Things.” There was light on the stars. Armstrong was not yet a brand. And yet it became a success.
Less than an hour after the Emmys ceremony ended, when Armstrong was asked at a news conference what he would do next, he demurred.
Instead, he reflected on the past.
“I don't expect this group of people to ever repeat themselves,” he said of “Succession.” “I hope to do interesting work for the rest of my life. But I feel pretty comfortable with the feeling that I may never be involved in something as good.”
