If you take the time to look through the Netflix library, you’ll notice some trends with its programming. This is thanks to the ever-present algorithm that both suggests shows you might enjoy and helps Netflix decide what to produce. The specific trend I want to discuss is the tendency to market a show with two […]
Author: Jesse Swanson
The IT franchise gets more convoluted with Welcome to Derry
Want to turn your film franchise into a TV property but you’re unsure how to make it work? Try making a prequel! Are you worried that you’ll dilute the brand by creating a subpar product compared to the films? Don’t worry, it’s a prequel! Nothing matters when you set it in the past! While I […]
Pluribus is a tantalizing sci-fi show impossible to resist
Before creating two of the greatest TV shows of all time, Vince Gilligan was a writer on The X-Files. For 8 seasons, he wrote some of the show’s best episodes and eventually became a co-executive producer. If there’s one thing to take away from Pluribus, Gilligan’s latest series,it’s that he hasn’t lost touch with his […]
DMV: As exciting as standing in line
A basic fact of American life is that there are many government institutions that are a hassle to interact with. There’s often a good reason for the bureaucratic drudgery that defines most of them, but it remains a pain. For seemingly as long as it’s existed, the DMV has been the biggest punching bag in […]
Television Turmoil: Supertrain proved to be one of the costliest failures in TV history
There are few people in the 70s TV landscape as influential as Fred Silverman. Described as “The Man with the Golden Gut,” Silverman was renowned for his ability to pick out hit shows. This particular brand of executive-myth building started with stints on CBS and ABC, where he helped revitalize both networks and, in the […]