The Age of Peak TV Is Ending. An Age of Austerity Is Beginning.
Hollywood studios and major streaming services are cutting back on programming after years of unfettered growth.
The sudden decline in Netflix’s share price and the growing fear of a recession have forced Hollywood into a new period of fiscal austerity. This manifests in ways big and small. A TV director who made $4 million a year is now getting $750,000. Mid-budget movies are being shelved. Broadcast TV budgets have dropped more than 30%.
In the latest new trend, networks are canceling shows that they already agreed to make. Peacock shelved plans for a “Field of Dreams” TV series from the co-creator of “Parks and Recreation,” while HBO Max canceled “Demimonde” from “Lost” co-creator J.J. Abrams.