Where Does “Catastrophe” Fit Into the New Television Distribution Model?
We have heard much talk of late about new models for the distribution of television. Netflix blew the doors off of the traditional model when it began streaming original content like House of Cards (2013). Soon Hulu and Amazon were also streaming original and exclusive content, providing widespread access to all types and designs of shows previously unseen on American televisions (or computers or smartphones or tablets.)
During the August 2015 Television Critics Association press tour, FX Networks CEO John Landgraf got a lot of attention when he said, as reported by NPR, “This is simply too much television.” His thinking is that the volume of good TV (and maybe less-good TV) is drowning out the great TV, choking the audience. Whether you agree with Landgraf or not, the numbers are staggering. According to that same NPR article, there were 371 scripted shows in 2014, an increase of 75 percent from five years earlier.
Catastrophe (2015) represents a smaller segment of this increase: American audiences now have growing access to more content originally produced for a foreign network. Amazon tags the Sharon Horgan and Rob Delaney created show as an “Amazon Original Series,” but it was originally produced and aired by BBC Channel 4. Amazon picked up the show and streamed the first season in its entirety in the United States starting June 19, 2015. This channel for international distribution opens up a wide world of available content, further complicating the world views of executives like John Landgraf. Speaking strictly, regarding British-produced programming, streaming services like Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix provide alternatives to the highly curated content of shows like Masterpiece Theater and Masterpiece Mystery on PBS.
Freed from the confines of public television, brash and innovative British shows like Catastrophe can find a new audience in American viewers. Catastrophe is perhaps even more suited for such a crossover than other programs, given that Rob Delaney, one of the show’s co-creators and co-stars, is American. The show is a mix of sardonic British wit and American rom-com optimism.
Time will say how Landgraf’s concerns resolve themselves, but, for now, the availability of a more diverse group of previously unavailable shows like Catastrophe is not the worst problem for a viewer to have.