Never mind escapism. Turns out, as Sarah Hughes reports on MediaGuardian, that real life is making for the really compelling drama this autumn.
“What if you started a television season and nobody watched? From behemoths such as Heroes to new shows such as Fringe, US television is in the middle of a ratings freefall as viewers turn away from escapist dramas and tune into politics instead.
All the superpowers in the world aren’t enough to make people stop worrying in times like these and some of America’s biggest hits have suffered – on ABC Grey’s Anatomy drew 17% fewer viewers to its season premiere this year, Ugly Betty was down 15% while NBC’s Heroes, coming off the back of a much-criticised second season, slumped 29% from 14.1 million to 10 million viewers.”
Maybe the need for escapism will come later as things really begin to bite. And it will; as Mrs Tosh points out, despite the schadenfreude of some who claim to be enjoying the fall of finance’s big beasts, this crash will be harming us all. There’s true drama being played out as we discover how financiers and politicians deal with it, because their action – or lack of it – will determine our prosperity for years to come. The ratings – including a 57.1m audience for the first Presidential debate – show just how strongly TV viewers know it.
