Eine Lobrede in Zeitlupe für die TV-Branche Jetzt gibt es weniger Angebot: Shows, bei denen echte Sets gebaut werden, voll besetzte Autorenräume, Serien-Stammgäste, Dutzende wiederkehrende Rollen und Gastrollen und Aufmerksamkeit, die auf den Produktionswert gelegt wird.

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Re: real sets being built- the last episode of Starfleet Academy I noticed that pretty much every scene was happening in a round room. Because it was all being shot on a Volume-type setup.

Once I saw it I couldn’t un-see it

The reason we’re seeing fewer pilots and fewer shows overall is simple: television – supercharged by streaming – has effectively replaced the traditional feature film. Today’s series operate at the same level as movies in terms of sets, production value, and star power. That wasn’t always the case. Television used to be the minor leagues – where actors went if they couldn’t break into film. Budgets were smaller, visuals were flatter, and the themes were repetitive. In the ’70s and ’80s, prime time was dominated by cop shows, spy dramas, legal procedurals, and sitcoms staged on a soundstage with a couch at the center.

Technology and viewing habits have changed everything. Modern TV tackles themes once reserved for cinema, and it does so with serious money behind it. When each series is essentially a multi-hour film, you can’t realistically order 66 pilots a season. These aren’t cheap experiments anymore – they’re long-form cinematic productions.

And in fact, there isn’t even a “there” there anymore. The term TV show is increasingly a misnomer. Most of what we call television isn’t technically television at all – it’s streaming. Who still subscribes to cable and premium channels the way people did even 10 or 15 years ago? The TV set itself is no longer a delivery system; it’s just a screen connected to a streaming platform. That’s it.

And theatrical films themselves have lost some of their dominance. Fewer people are eager to spend $25 and leave their homes for a 90-minute story that ends just as it finds its rhythm. The long-form structure of a TV series allows for deeper world-building, richer character development, and more complex storytelling. Over multiple seasons, writers can explore layers that a two-hour film simply doesn’t have the time to unpack. Movies often feel compressed by comparison – either wrapping up too quickly or leaving audiences wanting more without delivering it.

So when you combine cinematic television with streaming distribution, it’s no surprise the industry is shifting. This isn’t the end of TV – it’s a transformation. Shows are still being made, but they increasingly resemble extended films rather than episodic filler from decades past. And honestly, that’s not a bad trade. A world with fewer formulaic sitcoms and interchangeable cop procedurals isn’t much of a loss.