Streaming broke Hollywood, but saved TV — now it's time for you to do your part
After a promising infancy, streaming is stuck in a nasty adolescence. Fans of great TV must act to help preserve what works, because consumers can and do have a say in all this.
The idea struck me in an odd place: a Los Angeles hotel ballroom, packed with producers, executives and talent from some of the biggest TV shows in the industry. I was there to hand out an award, as part of the TV Honors ceremony presented by the African American Film Critics Association.
Looking out into the audience, I saw talented Black and brown artists from an impressive roster of shows: Swagger on Apple TV+. Bel-Air on Peacock. Insecure, A Black Lady Sketch Show and Winning Time from HBO/HBO Max. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds from Paramount+. Ozark from Netflix.
My mind flashed to what the industry was like when I first started covering TV, in the late 1990s. Back then, a new fall season could debut featuring over that one.)
