In 2018, the number of scripted television series hit a new high of 495 scripted television programs across all platforms. Amazingly, that number grew even higher in 2019.
One has to wonder just how many television shows the world can support. It seems that the networks and streaming services want to figure this out as well. One person who is particularly interested is FX Networks Chairman John Landgraf who has issued his annual report.
Landgraf announced that his team found an increase of 7% to a staggering 532 scripted original series. This surprised even Landgraf who once thought we had already hit the peak and the number would begin shrinking. He has now reversed course and says the number will only continue to grow.
This truly comes as no surprise with Peacock and HBO Max launching this year. The demand for additional content is going nowhere but up for the foreseeable future.
Could we be looking at 600 scripted series in a year at some point? Quite possibly.
