Many of the biggest shows are coming to an end, cancellations are through the roof and miniseries are on the rise. Are the days of the all-conquering television drama numbered?
Now that Succession has finally lived up to its writers’ most-loved phrase and decided to “fuck off” at the end of its fourth season, it leaves a big question for the TV world. It’s one befitting a show hinged on who was qualified to take over the Roy family business. So, who, or what, will succeed the biggest drama on TV?
For the past two and a half decades – the much-heralded prestige TV era – it has always seemed there is one series that reigns supreme at any given moment. There is no discernible science to the idea but whoever could gather the winning combination (or at least some components) of critical acclaim, big ratings, award show sweeps and, latterly, social media buzz, fits the bill. It’s those shows for which you dodge online spoilers, that you passionately recommend to anyone who will listen, whose characters loom large from billboards at the train station, and whose Emmy and Bafta wins feel like a lap of honour. They’re the shows you binge seven seasons of in a fortnight and instantly become an evangelist for. You’d call it water-cooler television if anyone worked in the office any more.
