Ian Reilly

1/10/17
Why Network Doesnt Work
As soon as cable television burst on the scene, it was bad news for networks.
For an additional cost, all the raunchiness of Hollywood was available in a weekly
format in living rooms across America. All of a sudden the phrase you cant do that on
television become obsolete. You could now do just about anything on television.
Starting in 1972, when Charles Dolan founded the Home Box Office network (California
Cable and Telecommunications Association), the living room broke free of the chokehold the FCC had maintained for decades. Finally, Americans would no longer be
confined to basic comedies demonstrating the same American family values.
However in 2017, networks still dominate in terms of ratings (Nielsen). This
shouldnt necessarily be a bad thing. But in recent years there has been an odd trend:
networks are producing bizarrely outdated content in the name of diversity. Meanwhile
cable channels, home to truly diverse shows, are overshadowed by this easily
accessible content.
ABC is the main perpetrator of these crimes against diversity. It started about
four years ago when the network premiered a new show, The Goldbergs. Written and
created by comedian Adam F. Goldberg, the show was initially advertised as Goldbergs
life story. Just your normal boy, growing up in a Jewish family in 1980s Pennsylvania.
The show itself is a witty family comedy, rife with 80s references with just enough
modern terminology to not alienate younger viewers. The way ABC packaged and
presented it, it appeared to be an opportunity to get some light diversity into the lineup.

Although in content its much more a show about life in the 80s, ABC stressed just how
Jewish it was (which it really wasnt).
Then a year later, Black-ish premiered. Created by Kenya Barris, Black-ish is the
story of a modern well-off black family living in an affluent part of L.A. Through the
shows continuing three-year run, its explored loaded themes related to racism and
identity. In this regard the show was broken ground in network television. But I cant
help but wonder what other shows with black families at the center have been pitched to
ABC and turned away. This is not to say that Blackish was built as some sort of focusgroup crowd-pleaser. Barris has said this show is his lifefor real. But it made me
wonder, whose life stories were not deemed fit for network television?
These two shows were the beginning of taking peoples real life experiences and
tokenizing them. Since then, ABC has also premiered shows Fresh Off the Boat (Eddie
Huangs life as a first-generation American in 90s Orlando), The Real ONeals (an Irish
Catholic family whose divorce and gay son challenge traditional Catholic values), and
Speechless (about a family whose eldest son suffers from severe cerebral palsy
rendering him mute). Every show is serving a purpose, every show is filling a bucket,
every show is checking a box. Sitcom diversity is a sorry excuse for diversity.

The point of these shows is that were all the sameand thats beautiful, and
true in some respectshowever, more than that, what we need to understand is how
our lives differ. In his farewell speech, President Obama called BS on the idea of a
post-racial America. He emphasized that we arent all the same our experiences can
be very different. As a white guy, I yearn to understand people (who are not white guys)
more. I feel like its my duty to watch shows that will help me do this. And I cant help but

feel like ABC has the training wheels on. All these shows are diverse in the exact same
way. And how is that diversity?
Cable televisions approach to programming is completely different. Because it
functions with the luxury of not caring about ratings, cable can take more risks and
authentic diversity comes as a result.
Atlanta offers a surrealistic look at modern Atlanta, following multiple characters
and the struggles they face. The shows four main charactersEarn, Alfred, Darius, and
Vanessa are all blackbut thats not what the story is about. The characters do face
racism at multiple times, and often talk about subjects relating to race, but more than
anything theyre Atlantans. The plots grow out of their livesand some of the best
episodes happen to deal with subjects like police brutality, appropriation, drug dealing,
and murder. Showrunner Donald Glover seamlessly puts viewers in Earns head,
blurring the lines between viewer and protagonist. Its relatable to anyone, and though
its not issue driven, you feel these human problems deeply, as a viewer. The viewer is
able to actually be educated without being on the outside looking in.

Another example of actual diversity in a cable show is FXXs Man Seeking

sounds), there are countless stories to be told via any and all faces, rather than the
restrictions posed by the ethnic family comedy.
The worst part of this network trend toward uninspired diversity is the cover it
provides for the industry as a whole: it gives them a pass on pursuing authentic
diversity. This lazy approach to networks to declare themselves progressive and
acceptingtheyve solved the problem!but in actuality theyre using the same formula
to produce generic content. Theyre in a rut of mediocrity and it only impedes the
progress that some cable channels are making.
The ABC presentation of diverse content makes the world think this is all it needs
to be. They act like by making a few cookie cutter shows theyre making huge strides. In
a country where we are already so heavily divided, due in part to strong concentrations
of racism, this white attempt at multicultural television shows how far we still need to go.

Even in these shows, much of the production staff is still astoundingly Caucasian. It also
comes as no surprise that throughout the industry as a whole its very white-male
dominant.
The solution is simple, but risky: networks need to stop making shows about
families. That would be a pretty big paradigm shift, but when a show is about a family,
thats five or so characters who are all, by the standards of television diversity, the
same.
For real change to happen on the network level, the whole industry needs a
makeover. Variety conducted a study going into the 2016-17 television season to
determine the diversity of new network shows. The results were underwhelming to say
the least. Only 22% of new programs had women at the helm. To put that into context,

that number was 18% in 1997. And of the new crop of showrunners, only five of the fifty
are people of color (two women, three men). Counting all network shows (not just new
ones) male showrunners outnumbered females 3 to 1 (Variety). The numbers speak for
themselves: television is still a white mans domain. In 2017, the world of television is far
too powerful to only be controlled by one group. Its time for a change.
Maybe its too much to ask these huge networks to alter the situation that has
worked so well for them the past few decades. Why even bother, when we can watch
great stuff on cable: Because as long as networks remain the most accessible, theyre
also the most impactful. No matter how progressive cable is, it will never have the reach
that network television does. Networks have always set the standards for television and
cable has then pushed those to new places. Its about time they got on the same
wavelength, and started promoting the same ideas, ideas that we can build a foundation
for diverse future of television. Cable has already done their job, and thats why its the
networks responsibility to change and get with the times.

Works Cited
"History of Cable." CCTA. CCTA, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.

Ryan, Maureen. "Showrunners for New TV Season Remain Mostly White and
Male." Variety. Variety, 08 June 2016. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.

"TopTen ." Top 10s. Nielsen, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2017.