Why did the industry drift away from making wholesome TV shows?

HoneyNut said:
I wonder how much is our own watching preferences making us think there aren't wholesome shows these days? Maybe we are just choosing to watch the unwholesome ones?

When my daughter was young she'd watch That's So Raven, Spongebob Squarepants, etc. So, I'm guessing there are probably still innocent TV shows even today that we don't know about because we don't want to watch them ourselves.

When I googled for popular shows for tweens, I don't recognize any of the shows (but I don't have Netflix or Disney+ which may be why I don't see wholesome young people type shows). Has anyone here watched any of these?

Some of the currently most popular TV shows that tweens like to watch include: ​
Action & Adventure​
  • Stranger Things (Netflix): A massively popular sci-fi horror series set in the 1980s that follows a group of friends investigating supernatural mysteries in their small town.
  • Outer Banks (Netflix): An action-adventure teen drama about a group of friends hunting for legendary treasure while navigating high-stakes adolescence.
  • My Hero Academia (Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu): A long-running anime about a boy born without superpowers in a world of superheroes, who is determined to become one of the greatest heroes.
Teen Dramas & Comedies​
  • Heartstopper (Netflix): Based on a popular graphic novel, this heartfelt series follows two boys who discover their unlikely friendship might be something more, as they and their friends navigate school and young love.
  • Wednesday (Netflix): A supernatural comedy that follows Wednesday Addams as she attempts to solve a murder mystery while attending Nevermore Academy.
  • Ginny & Georgia (Netflix): A dramedy about a free-spirited mother and her angsty teenage daughter who move to a new town for a fresh start.
  • Never Have I Ever (Netflix): A coming-of-age comedy-drama inspired by the childhood of actress and writer Mindy Kaling.
  • My Life With the Walter Boys (Netflix): A drama about a teenage girl who moves in with her mother's large family of ten boys after a family tragedy.
Fantasy & Sci-Fi​
  • Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir (Netflix): An animated superhero series about two teenagers who protect Paris from supervillains.
  • Shadow and Bone (Netflix): Based on the popular YA fantasy book series, this show follows a young soldier with magical power who must contend with powerful forces and a shadow-filled world.
  • Locke & Key (Netflix): After their father is murdered, three siblings move into an ancestral home that holds magical keys and secrets.
Family-Friendly​
  • Bluey (Disney+): A very popular animated series centered on a family of dogs in Australia. The show is particularly popular with younger tweens and children.
  • The Baby-Sitters Club (Netflix): This reboot of the beloved book series follows a group of young girls who start their own babysitting business.
Click to expand...
Wholesome is sort of a matter of opinion. Some of the kid shows have a lot of violence. Sure, the good guys always win, but not without a lot of fighting. I noticed this while my granddaughter was growing up. Of course, those are the ones she liked.
 

MACKTEXAS said:
I never liked the show "Friends" where most of the time the cast was sitting in a coffee shop having conversations that were (supposed to be) funny. That isn't entertaining to me, no matter how good the jokes may be. I like comedies where people are moving about, engaged in activities. That's just one reason why I can still enjoy watching "I Love Lucy."
Click to expand...
I watch I Love Lucy, from time to time. I have all 39 episodes of The Honeymooners on DVD. I really enjoy watching the old episodes of The Jack Benny Program. I didn't realize how funny that show was when I was a kid. I never really watched Friends either. Some shows like Two Broke Girls, I didn't find funny at all. Not only did I not watch it, I could never figure out how it lasted so long on the air.
 

Nathan said:
When Beavis and Butthead debuted I knew that family oriented shows were going to be overshadowed by the 'attractiveness' of crass, vulgar behaviour.
Click to expand...
The Simpsons is another example. When Fox first aired it groups were calling for boycotting sponsors of the show because it was so "subversive". Now I think most think of it as just another family comedy show.
 
Much of television may be far fetched, but it seems TV is more in line today with today's reality. Frankly I think the old shows were just something to watch. We didn't demand much from TV. Today we demand more than lectures on morality and family values. We like things that give us insight into our own issues. But there is so much more to watch now too. There must be some Farina shows still out there.

And these shows rise and fall on ratings. That's where television takes most of it's directions from.
 
Pepper said:
Jerry Mathers, Leave It to Beaver, is a year older than I. At the time, I didn't feel it was a reality I recognized, but I RESENTED, even as a little kid, that this was the Reality being pushed. I didn't like his reality. His parents were, in my Young View, Authoritarian.
Click to expand...

My favorite character on that show was Eddie Haskell. His character was more real.
 
Flarbalard said:
It's what sells. That IS what America is all about. People who want better, just aren't a large enough consumer demographic to make it commonplace, therefore profitable.
Click to expand...
I get what you're saying, and there may be truth to it, but I have heard many people say there is so many channels, but it's so difficult to find anything worth watching. You can scroll through 50 channels and not find anything that reaches out and grabs you. Maybe there is a sizeable demographic there, I couldn't say.

However, I also wouldn't discount the possibility that the program providers are offering 300 channels to make it look like a banquet, but after you subscribe, it's just a bunch of bargains they were able to secure at the lowest price from the creators of third rate content. Then, since the program providers bought it, the creators think it's sellable, so they make more. JMO
 
bobcat said:
I get what you're saying, and there may be truth to it, but I have heard many people say there is so many channels, but it's so difficult to find anything worth watching. You can scroll through 50 channels and not find anything that reaches out and grabs you. Maybe there is a sizeable demographic there, I couldn't say.

However, I also wouldn't discount the possibility that the program providers are offering 300 channels to make it look like a banquet, but after you subscribe, it's just a bunch of bargains they were able to secure at the lowest price from the creators of third rate content. Then, since the program providers bought it, the creators think it's sellable, so they make more. JMO
Click to expand...
Maybe having 300 channels to choose from has drastically watered down the demographic angle. 🤔

It was very different when all of America had only three channels to choose from.
 
bobcat said:
I also wouldn't discount the possibility that the program providers are offering 300 channels to make it look like a banquet, but after you subscribe, it's just a bunch of bargains they were able to secure at the lowest price from the creators of third rate content. Then, since the program providers bought it, the creators think it's sellable, so they make more. JMO
Click to expand...
I think that's exactly what they are doing.
 
bobcat said:
Did the public change, or did the industry just go a different direction and ultimately took us along with it?
Click to expand...

Bingo! The public changed. Mass media reflects society. In so far as it CHANGES us, well, Social Media does that today, and not many seem to care.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top