Producing emotionally rich and immersive TV shows is a dying art. The past decade has seen the release of many successful TV shows, but few are comparable to the soul-filled shows from the golden age of television in the 2000s and early 2010s. Many shows recently fall short in their world-building, plot, character development and quality of acting. Take, for instance, “Legacies,” the final series in “The Vampire Diaries” trilogy. Viewers had high expectations from the other two shows, but “Legacies” was childish, predictable, incoherent and disappointing overall in its depth and shock compared to the previous two shows in the trilogy. Television is meant to entertain viewers and act as an escape from everyday life. It’s unfortunate to see a regression in the production of TV shows which has taken away the charm of television.
Viewers in the 2000s and 2010s had longer episodes, seasons and total runtime. It takes time to develop a storyline and plot, yet the majority of shows today only offer a few 10-episode seasons. In the 2000s and 2010s audiences had time to immerse themselves in each TV world because shows weren’t rushed. Detailed and cohesive television universes were built throughout the length of the show. Audiences were able to understand the history and background of the setting and plot, with each episode and season enriching the narrative with twists and layers of depth, contributing to far better world-building.
Take “The Vampire Diaries” as an example. The series spans eight seasons, with each containing roughly 20 45-minute episodes. Viewers first meet the present-day Mystic Falls residents, then the story gradually expands by introducing characters from the town’s past and interconnected storylines. The development makes viewers care about the main characters and the secondary ones equally. This evolution keeps the show engaging and cohesive without coming off as confusing and chaotic. It’s almost impossible to do the same today with shows having few episodes and seasons. TV shows today also take years to come out with new seasons and the quality seems to deteriorate, making the wait feel not worth it. This is seen in “XO, Kitty,” a spinoff of the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” movie series. The first season came out in 2023, featuring ten episodes all of which were cringy, confusing and poorly produced. The second season came out two years later, this time with only eight episodes, and was far worse and more inconsistent than the first season.
Shows from the 2000s and 2010s were distinct and had endless variety, providing something for everyone to resonate with. Fans could dive into supernatural worlds in shows like “The Vampire Diaries,” “The 100” and “Supernatural” or follow webs of lies and secrets in “Pretty Little Liars”, “Gossip Girl” and “Scandal.” Laughs and more lighthearted stories were offered in “Modern Family,” “The Office” or “Jane the Virgin,” and teen dramas like “Gilmore Girls,” “The OC” and “One Tree Hill” told coming-of-age narratives. Even though these shows fit into familiar genres, they were all fresh, unique, and far from formulaic or predictable.
Predictability and a lack of complexity is a major flaw in many recent TV shows. For example, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” follows the cliched love triangle storyline. The focus is that competing affections isn’t a flaw, but its execution is poor. Throughout the entire show, it is obvious who the main character will end up with and the lack of character development makes it easy for viewers to decide which love interest they’ll root for. This makes the series boring and redundant because the audience knows what to expect. On the other hand, series like “The Vampire Diaries,” “Gossip Girl” and “Gilmore Girls” also depicted complex relationship entanglements, but made it difficult for viewers to side with one character because the development of each one was executed well.
In today’s social and political environment, shows tend to try too hard to conform to expectations and pressures about what is portrayed on television. This results in unsuccessful attempts at relating to younger generations through slang or overt social commentary that overshadows the plot. The 2000s and 2010s still included important social commentary, but in a way that naturally integrated with the storyline. For example, “The 100” touches on the consequences of environmental damage and ethics in decision making for survival and colonization, all without explicit mention. Similarly, “The Originals” explores social hierarchies, prejudice, discrimination and tribalism by using supernatural conflicts as subtle references to real world issues. The integration of social commentary was seamless compared to the awkward execution in many shows today.
The decline following the golden age of television in the 2000s and 2010s has been a major disappointment for TV fans. Perhaps the timelessness, nostalgia and quality of older TV shows are why so many of these series are widely rewatched to this day. There was something different about the passion and effort put into past shows, and very few series today have been able to reach that level.
