At the 76th Annual Emmy Awards in September, three shows seemed to dominate when it came to awards won that night. Those shows being “Baby Reindeer,” “The Bear,” and “Shōgun,” all three individually winning four awards from the main categories, and all three being connected to major streaming services.
“The Bear” and “Shōgun” were both released simultaneously on the cable television channel FX and streaming service Hulu, with the latter being the noticeably more popular platform for viewers. “Baby Reindeer” was released exclusively on Netflix and was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback. Streaming services being the most popular way to view television shows is nothing new, as platforms like Netflix, Max, and Hulu have been powerhouses for over a decade at this point, but this year’s Emmy awards may have been the prime example of how streaming platforms have revolutionized the way that television is being produced and consumed.
This year’s Emmy awards was dominated by FX, the first time that the network has taken the majority of awards, with 36 in total won, and 29 coming from just two of its series, “Shōgun” and “The Bear.” These two shows were arguably the biggest of the past year and they could not be more different, with “Shōgun” being a historical fiction drama set in 17th century Japan that is an adaptation of a 1975 novel of the same name, and “The Bear,” a psychological comedy-drama set in present day Chicago.
Both shows set records that night, with “The Bear” becoming the most awarded comedy series in a single year. “The Bear” won 11 Emmys, beating its own record that it set the previous year. “Shōgun” took the spot as the most awarded television show in a single year in Emmy’s history, with 18 awards.
The quality of these two shows are both top tier, especially “Shōgun,” utilizing historically accurate costumes, set pieces, and large battle scenes on par with that of “Game of Thrones.” “The Bear,” while a more grounded and modern show, utilizes innovative editing techniques with top-tier character writing and acting to create one of the most anxiety-inducing, yet intriguing shows of the past decade.
The movie-level quality for these television series is no doubt a result of the FX network and Hulu being acquired by Disney, opening up the platform to receive much more of a budget for their original series. The recent surge of high-quality television, not just from Hulu, but from other platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, is a clear attempt to compete with HBO, who in the past was seen as the gold standard for high-quality television programs.
HBO changed the way that television shows were thought of when “Game of Thrones” premiered in 2011, becoming the most expensive television series ever made and looking more like a Hollywood film series than a TV show. With shows like “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” and “Succession” being massive hits, HBO still stands among the other streaming giants, especially after the release of their own streaming service, Max (formerly known as HBO Max).
It is no surprise that the biggest shows on television right now are all being released through streaming platforms, and it is even less of a surprise that streaming has completely revolutionized the way that television shows are consumed.
In August of 2022, NBC reported that streaming services had drawn more viewers than cable for the first time ever. Since then, streaming has stayed on top, and every year that goes by, cable grows more and more irrelevant. When asked the last time he watched a television series on cable, MCC student Daniel Cellucci stated, “[it has been] years. My family doesn’t even have cable anymore.”
Woodstock resident Nathan Sheehan stated boldly: “I’ve never had cable.” He has relied on streaming services his entire life. The truth is, many Americans have canceled their cable packages years ago in favor of paid subscription services such as Netflix and Hulu, and this is actively changing the way television shows are made. To put it simply, the bar has been raised.
With streaming services such as Max, Hulu, and Netflix constantly putting out high budget, high quality shows every year, there are too many good shows out to watch. It feels as if every other week or so there is a new season of a show or a new mini-series releasing that is worthy of checking out. The rise of streaming services is even changing the way people consume television, with binging TV shows becoming a standard way to watch, even influencing some platforms to release entire seasons of a show at once to be watched back-to-back.
This year’s Emmy Awards cemented proof that the days of cable television are truly in the past, with nearly every award that night going to a series released primarily on a streaming platform. The truth is, scripted television series have entered a new era thanks to services such as Netflix, Max, and Hulu, showing what a Hollywood-sized budget can bring to a show. This seems to be just the beginning, however, if the industry continues to put money into well-crafted programs, the best shows may be yet to come.
