As streamers and media companies cancel shows, reverse renewals and raise prices in light of a challenging economic environment, studios’ scripted series output will continue to decline after spending several years climbing toward “peak TV,” said FX Networks Chairman John Landgraf at the winter gathering of the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, Calif., on Thursday.

That said, 2022 still managed to hit a new record with 599 new adult scripted series released, according to FX’s research. That’s up 7% from 559 in 2021, and way up from 2020, when the pandemic caused production to abruptly halt and only 493 new adult scripted series were released.

Landgraf predicted during the session that 2022 would represent the peak of the peak TV era: “I’m going to foolishly make another prediction, which is that 2022 will be the high watermark,” he said, as reported by Variety.

As for FX, it launched 19 returning series and six limited series in 2022 with more to come in 2023, Landgraf said, including critically-acclaimed series The Bear, Dave, Reservation Dogs and more.

Closing out their runs on FX are Mayans M.C., which will air its fifth and final season this year, and Snowfall, which is debuting its last season on February 22.

Coming to FX this spring is the third season of Dave on Wednesday, April 5, and several offerings on the non-fiction side. FX has two documentaries coming from its partnership with the New York Times: Sin Eater, a two-part docuseries about Hollywood private investigator Anthony Pellicano, and documentary feature The Legacy of J Dilla. It’s also debuting five-episode docuseries Dear Mama, about Tupac Shakur and his Black Panther mother Afeni Shakur on Friday, April 21.

[Images courtesy of FX]

Tags: fx john landgraf winter tca 2023


  Save as PDF