Art and Business: The sustainability models of TV shows

There's three types of television dramas...at least for this exercise. There are action based shows, character based shows, and CSI.

Action based shows are shows like Battlestar Galactica or Lost. You don't see a lot of them. An action based show is a show that has one clearly definable plot, and when that action is completed, the show, or series is over. So, in the BSG world, Cylons have taken over and there is a war between humans and cylons. When the war is over, so is the show. When the Lost characters get off the lost island, the show is over. This model for a television show is unsustainable.

Character based shows are shows like ER, Grey's Anatomy, or Gilmore Girls. These shows don't have a basic narrative plot that needs to be fulfilled. Instead, the show survives on the relationships of the characters you bring aboard. ER has been on the air for a looong time. It is an infinately sustainable model. The same is true for sitcoms, as they are character based. Note that Arrested Development failed, but as it was an action based sit com, it's basic narrative tension was fulfilled.

CSI, like 24 (on a different level) seems to be a blend of character and action. Each episode is the same, but the characters never seem to develop. As long as hookers are being murdered, this show will stay in business. 24 seems oddly infinitely sustainable because after each season, the narrative tension is completed, but next season we have the exact same thing. One season of 24 is akin to one episode of CSI.

Action based tv shows sometimes don't do well in the ratings because they're hard to follow. They are hard to follow because if you miss one episode, you can't just pick it back up where you left off. This ends up causing a loyal audience because you can't miss an episode, so people make it a priority to watch. One of the issues with these shows is that once the plot is over, you can't really go anywhere. Once River figures out the history of the Reavers, you can't have a firefly. Once the war is over, you can't continue the show. The challenge in these shows, artistically, is that you have to manage it right so that you give the audience what they need, and you keep yourself in business, but you can't go to the point of having to contrive points to keep people interested. The matrix trilogy ultimately fails because the narrative tension had been fulfilled. So what happens is that you have to make some stuff up to continue the franchise.

This is not to say that shows don't fail because they're not given the proper chance to succeed by the network, or they're too expensive, or whatnot. Sometimes they're also just not that good. Just a bored thought.