There have never been so many series broadcast in the United States as in 2021

The American public has never had so many choices and the latest figures show how much series have invaded our daily lives.

–

Although they have been around for a long time, the series have not always been the blockbusters of today. Some programs are entitled to XXL budgets, and several big names in cinema are increasingly turning to the small screen. Phenomenon of the 2010s, Game of Thrones is one of those shows that have marked the history of entertainment and, today, more and more series manage to create a buzz.

Series production has increased by 100% in less than ten years

Like the tidal wave Squid Game, which will be entitled to future seasons, the emergence of platforms such as Netflix, Disney+ or Apple TV+ have also contributed to increasing the production of series in recent years. Since 2009, the number of shows broadcast in the United States has continued to increase, a situation that the data branch of the FX channel is studying. 559 series were broadcast in 2021 (only in the land of Uncle Sam), an increase of 13% compared to the previous season. Hit by the pandemic, the industry had registered a sharp decline in 2020, for the first time in more than a decade.

As a reminder, many filming had been stopped, thus postponing the launch of new seasons or new productions to the following year. Yet the American public has never had so many choices available to them. Proof of this rather crazy situation, these calculations only count series broadcast in prime time and therefore do not include foreign series broadcast on American soil such as Squid Game Where The Money Heist.

Inflation that is not likely to decrease anytime soon

Figures which prove that, in less than ten years, the production of series has even increased by 100%. In 2012, there were indeed “only” 288 shows to watch in the United States, almost half of the total for 2021. Compared to 2016, which corresponds to the beginning of the domination of streaming, there is an increase of 23 % of new series and it is not the explosion of new streaming platforms (Hulu, Disney+, Paramount+, HBO Max, Shudder, Apple TV+ or even Discovery+) that is likely to change the situation. A few weeks ago, Disney announced that 30 billion euros would be spent on productions, the series of course being part of the account. For its part, Netflix will confirm its status as a heavyweight in the market with the arrival of several series in 2022, and rivals like Amazon will draw assets like The Lord of the Rings. It therefore remains to be seen whether this historical peak in distribution can be beaten in 2022.

–