Prior to the development in quality and popularity of television shows, films dominated the visual entertainment industry, and were viewed by the majority as a higher, more culturally superior and well-respected form of media, largely due to their advanced cinematography and high-quality content, which came as a result of larger cinematic budgets. For aspiring actors wanting to make it in Hollywood, the main goal was to star in a blockbuster film, in order to catch their big break. While movies are still a highly popular and respected medium, in the contemporary age, television has begun to receive just as much critical acclaim. For many today, in fact, television shows have become the preferred form of media consumption. But to what, or whom, can this be attributed?

It all began back in the 1950s, as the first ‘Golden Age of TV’ is typically claimed to be from 1949-1955. This was a time of swift transition in the television industry, as big Hollywood studios began to change their approach to this new visual media form. While they had previously avoided the threat of television, they now realised its potential for great success and opened up to getting involved in it. One of these was Walt Disney studios, who began supplying programming to the ABC network in 1954. Therefore, the base for many television shows moved from New York to Los Angeles instead.

However, it wasn’t until later, with the release of 21 Emmy award-winning ‘The Sopranos’, and the subsequent second golden age of television that followed, that it began to be respected on the same level as film. Centred around a mob boss struggling to balance his personal issues with his family and professional life of crime, this show rocketed to popularity and was even referred to by the acclaimed New York Times as the ‘greatest creation of American popular culture of the last quarter-century’. This can be largely attributed to its cinematography. It had a massive blockbuster budget, which allowed it to use cinematic methods to fulfil Director of Photography Alik Sakharov’s realist vision, taking inspiration from the renowned movie, The Godfather. By stepping up to the same level as renowned movies such as the aforementioned, this show brought television to a whole new place. Peabody Awards notes that this began the ‘Era of the Prestige Drama’, a new era in which much more high-quality content and narrative depth was expected from these dramatic television shows.

This led on to the development of a plethora of more lengthy and poignant drama TV shows with bigger budgets, such as Greys Anatomy and The Wire. Premiering in 2002, at the turn of the century, The Wire was released at a time in which TV was an exciting and new entity that did not know its own power or potential for longevity. Set in Baltimore, it tells the tale of a detective team investigating crimes and tackling the city’s drug scene. It explores intelligent subjecting, focusing on themes of addiction, poverty, the failures of the government, and the unachievable nature of the American dream.

The popularity of its artistry and complex narrative, with intertwining story arcs, proved that audiences were patient and willing to follow this longer, more fleshed out format. TV shows lend themselves to this format in a way in which movies do not, opting to focus on one central character and plot line in a limited time frame. This successful narrative led to the coining of the phrase ‘novel television’, which describes a meaningful television series that explores different characters in scenarios with their own character developments. Michael K Williams, a star actor who played Omar Little in The Wire, describes ‘novel television’ as ‘a visual equivalent of a Dickens novel’, a prime example of how television series have garnered a level of respect and critical acclaim previously only awarded to other cultural media forms, such as novels and films.

From a historical perspective, it is interesting to look back across the history of television and observe how this media form which now leads the entertainment industry has developed from its humble beginnings, overshadowed by blockbuster films, to its overwhelming success in the contemporary era.

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