In the current era where TV dominates, Bucks students shared their opinions on various new series and season premieres of shows released this fall across streaming, cable and network TV outlets.
This fall we have seen A- list actors who have been exclusive to the film industry enter the TV universe. Also, following in the trend of reboots this fall has not shied away from bringing back classic shows that have been canceled. And of course, a cluster of network reality TV shows were released.
A must see new show is the limited series “Maniac” released Sept. 21 on Netflix. The series has a star-studded cast, including Emma Stone and Jonah Hill. Both Stone and Hill are established in the cinema world but have never starred in a TV production. As expected, both give phenomenal performances. The show centers around Stone and Hill’s characters who take part in a pharmaceutical drug trial. Hill’s character experiences hallucinations throughout the series and viewers are left wondering what is real.
Bucks student, Regina Resnicoff, shared her opinion on the new series, “I have only seen a few episodes and all I can say so far is its definitely interesting.”
Both Stone and Hill are following in the trend of movie stars leaving the big screen to keep up with the popular demand that TV currently holds.
Another popular show released this fall was the eighth season of “American Horror Story” on FX. The season premiered on Sept. 12 with an apocalyptic theme. Viewers were happy to see previous cast members who have taken a few seasons off return for the new installment. Emma Roberts and Taissa Farmiga are among the featured returning cast.
The return of “American Horror Story” had Bucks students excited. However, first year student, Madelene Bcfaden, pointed out some frustrations with watching a network show.
“I watched all of the other seasons of “American Horror Story” on Netflix and now it’s annoying to have to wait a week for a new episode.”
Other students shared a similar opinion and favored Netflix and other streaming platforms content over network and cable shows.
“I mainly just watch old seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” on Netflix,” laughed Biomedical Science major, Sinem Atabas.
“I just like how there are no commercials” added Atabas.
Liberal Arts Major, Graceanne Rutecki, pointed out the convenience of watching from a streaming platform, “It doesn’t require me to leave my room. I can watch from any device.”
In spite of streaming platforms growing success, network channels continue to release new content.
The ABC sitcom and new revival “Roseanne” returned on Oct. 16 with a new name, “The Conner’s”, and without the previous lead Roseanne Barr. Barr was let go from the show after making a racist tweet. The return of the show was highly controversial. The show reached 10.5 million viewers which was about 8 million less than the previous season premiere.
“Well, she was the star,” said Madelene Bcfaden’s when asked why the ratings of the show sank without Barr.
CBS tried to compete with ABC by releasing their own revival of a 90s sitcom titled, “Murphy Brown.” The show centers around news reporter, Murphy Brown, and the challenges that come with her job. Even though the show is following in the trend of reboots it only received a measly 7.4 million viewers for the premiere.
In the competitive reality TV world, ABC released a spin-off of their hit show “Dancing with the Stars.” The spin-off is titled “Dancing with the Stars Juniors” and features today’s child celebrities. The cast includes, Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson and Stevie Wonder’s son Mandla Morris. The series premiered on Oct. 7 and continues to air every Sunday night.
TV line gave the show a raving review and said, “This version of show served up more energy and unbridle joy than the all-adults iteration.”
Even with the various new shows that have been released this fall, Bucks students seem to favor reruns of shows on their preferred streaming platform.
“Cable is just boring, I like just waiting for the entire season of the show to come out on Netflix and watching it all at once,” said, Hailey Thomas.
It seems that while TV is soaring above the film industry in popularity there may be something that could tear it down. Bucks student, Krista Ecaaro, highlighted this impending threat to TV when she said, “I really only watch YouTube.”