by A.J. Focht
Are you sick of spending your primetime television hours with doctors, lawyers, and detectives?
Original tv series ideas are hard to come by. Most of the shows currently on air are just different perspectives on the same stories. If an original show is bringing in a new audience, you can count on seeing a slew of similar shows pop-up on other networks. However the last decade has brought out some innovative ideas that you will be seeing a lot more of in future seasons.
First and foremost was the rebirth of the super-hero tv show. Smallville started the revival in 2001. The next five years were filled with failed attempts to replicate this genre, such as Birds of Prey. In 2006 NBC’s Heroes caused a huge commotion, attracting a cult like following for its first season. While the show continued for a further three seasons, consensus of opinion agrees that the 2007 writers strike caused the show’s quality to plummet. And with Smallville coming to a close this season, it seems everyone wants to fill this gap. ABC launched its super-hero show, No Ordinary Family, last September. Even NBC is giving a second run at the genre with David E. Kelley’s incarnation of Wonder Woman. It’s likely that the next few years will see many shows attempting to take
Another major revelation of the past few years is that musical television actually works. Fox has been making the most of Glee’s temporary monopoly on the market. CD’s, DVD’s, and general merchandise were not enough; after their successful 2010 live shows, the Glee cast is set to go on large-scale arena tour in 2011. While no networks have produced a competitor for Glee, you can be sure they are looking for one. Marc Cherry, writer of Golden Girls and creator of Desperate Housewives, is working on a new show called ‘Hallelujah!’ He calls it Glee for the conservative Republicans. While I’m not sure that’ll win the fans over; you can bet it is not the only musical tv series in the works.
As each network retires its old shows, they are looking for not only the next new idea but for new takes on tried and tested themes. It’s likely that the next few years will see an increase in historical fiction and crime television (specifically shows with a criminal protagonist). As for the next big original tv show, I cannot say. If FOX and Steven Spielberg have anything to say about it, time travel and dinosaurs will play a major part. Terra Nova is Spielberg’s newest project about people who leave a desolate future to restart in the past. The visual effects of the show look to be impressive and with a name like Spielberg behind it, it’s unlikely FOX will give it a premature burial.
