The year in TV: What sizzled, and fizzled, in 2016
TV was tumultuous in 2016: More streaming apps, more delayed viewing, and more shows led to a dizzying year. Our take on some noteworthy trends:
True-crime rise. Decades-old crimes came to the fore. FX's American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson offered a fictionalized account of the NFL star's murder trial while ESPN's documentary O.J.: Made in America painted a detailed portrait of Simpson's life, career and the case. The case of JonBenet Ramsey was revisited by three TV projects on the 20th anniversary of her death; CBS's version pointed the finger at her brother. And Netflix's Making a Murderer, released last December, reverberated when its subjects, accused murderers Brendan Dassey and his uncle, Steven Avery, fought for acquittals. And the all-crime Investigation Discovery network ranked among cable's top 12.
Music's mixed bag. It was a tune-filled year on television. Four musicals — Fox's Grease Live!, The Passion and Rocky Horror Picture Show remake, along with NBC's Hairspray Live! — had mixed results, but none were big hits. HBO's Vinyl and Showtime's Roadies bombed with one-and-done seasons. Fox's Empire crumbled 27%, but remained broadcast's top drama among young adults. Netflix's costly Baz Luhrmann series, The Get Down, led to budget fights. And ABC cancelled Nashville, but CMT revived the series for a fifth season.
Time travel test. It was a clever conceit in Back to the Future and TV's 50-year-old drama The Time Tunnel, but this year's crop of time-travel dramas fizzled. NBC's Timeless and CW's Frequency will finish out their short runs early next year. Come spring, two more tries, ABC's Time After Time and Fox sitcom Making History, will try to make viewers forget the past.
Diversity developments. In a year that saw the #OscarsSoWhite campaign criticize Hollywood for movies that were too lily-white, TV painted a different picture with a record number of major roles played by a diverse array of actors. Eighteen series had diverse leads this fall, up from six in 2011. But the progress wasn't entirely altruistic: Programmers say they recognized the economic value of reaching a growing audience of minority viewers.
Superhero stars. Just when you though the Marvel and DC universes couldn't expand further, TV found a way. Netflix has premiered Marvel's Luke Cage, its third of five planned Marvel series, joining ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (though Agent Carter was cancelled), and made plans for FX's Legion, Freeform's Cloak and Dagger and ABC's The Inhumans, due next year. CW picked up its fifth DC Comics series, Supergirl, from parent CBS, and AMC's Preacher and Fox's Lucifer surfaced. NBC will try a half-hour comedy, Powerless, in 2017.
Awards show fatigue. Continuing a recent trend, awards shows are losing viewers. In 2016, the Oscars, Emmys, American Music Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and MTV's Video Music Awards were at or near record lows.