Is There Too Much TV to Watch

Recently I read an article in the local paper here in Los Angeles that focused on the over-abundance of television programs available to viewers not only on the major and cable networks but also online on “networks” like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon.

This may not be THE year where there are more program options than ever before, but if you take the time to examine just how much “stuff” there is to watch live on your television, played back on your DVR or binge watched online, there is a LOT to watch one way or another.

If you are anything like me – a BIG fan of dramatic programming – many times there are more one-hour shows to watch in one night than there are hours to get through them – unless you want to get only a few hours of sleep each night.

Let’s take a look at just one night of primetime programming: Monday night.

ABC has Castle, CBS has Scorpion and NCIS: Los Angeles, FOX has Gotham and Minority Report and NBC has Blindspot; and in a few weeks The CW will have the new series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin. Can you guess how many of these I watch or will be watching?

How about Wednesday night? Do you know how many dramas there are? When all is said and done – once The CW starts their fall season – there will be 10 – yes, 10 – one-hour shows on during primetime. The same thing can be said for Thursday nights.

Then there are all of the cable dramas. If you look back at Sunday night over the summer, there were 8 shows on during primetime: Humans and Halt and Catch Fire on AMC, The Strain on FX, True Detective on HBO, The Last Ship and Falling Skies on TNT and Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex on Showtime.

And, if you take a look at the online options, then your head might really spin. There was Marco Polo, Daredevil, Sense8, Between and Bloodlines on Netflix not to mention Longmire (which was rescued from A&E) as well as Hemlock Grove and the upcoming Marvel’s Jessica Jones. Then Amazon gave us Hand of God and the upcoming The Man in the High Castle.

I have only begun to scratch the surface on the programming options on television and online that can be consumed on a daily basis. Don’t even get me started on the mini-series and made-for-TV movies. The folks over at the Hallmark Channel alone have a new movie debuting every Saturday, which started on September 19 and will continue the whole way through to Valentine’s Day. They have 17 new holiday movies planned, which includes a special 5-day Thanksgiving movie event. PBS shouldn’t be left out of this equation, as they have aired – to date – Downton Abbey, Grantchester, Mr. Selfridge, Call the Midwife, Poldark, Crimson Field, Last Tango in Halifax, Arthur & George and the recently started Indian Summers as well as the upcoming Homes Fires.

Needless to say, there is a lot of TV to watch; so perhaps I (slightly) agree with the writer of that article. But then again, I’m enjoying every minute of the programming options and am eagerly anticipating all that is still to come.

What about you? Do you find that you are watching more shows on TV and/or online this year than ever before? Or do you think there are too many programming options? Please share your thoughts.