Like vinyl, broadcast TV may be en vogue again. Amid Hollywood contraction, old-school network jobs are suddenly sought after — or at least increasingly viewed as a steadier paycheck for Hollywood’s shrinking creative class.
“A lot of people who used to say to me, ‘I’m never doing a Law & Order show, I’m never doing that,’ are now like, ‘I’m trying to provide for my family. I’ve got two kids and I need to make sure I can put food on the table and still pay for this house,’” one top TV agent tells P6H.
Despite lacking coolness, broadcast jobs offer a level of stability streaming often cannot. “You’re not winning awards or getting nominated for anything if you’re doing a network show, but it pays the bills,” the agent said. “As much as it’s a dying medium, people still want to work there because you can have a consistent style of living and know what your life is like.”
NBC’s reboot of “The Rockford Files” is from Mike Daniels, who most recently was a co-showrunner of Peacock’s short-lived “Ponies.” His last network TV gig was in 2019 with the Jimmy Smits legal drama “Bluff City Law” (also on NBC). Greg Mottola is directing and producing the pilot — his most recent TV credits include a pair of high-profile streaming series, “Peacemaker” and “Nobody Wants This” — in his first network TV gig since he helmed the first three episodes of “Arrested Development.”
Allegra Edwards is co-starring in CBS’ vampire comedy “Eternally Yours,” following five-seasons on Amazon’s “Upload.” One of the bigger hits this past season, Fox’s “Best Medicine,” featured Josh Charles in his first network TV starring role since “The Good Wife.”
For younger actors, streaming still offers something broadcast largely does not: lead roles. “There’s no leads on network television shows for a 25-year-old girl,” the agent added. “But on streaming, you can be the lead of a show making a really good living at 20 or 25 years old.”
One of the biggest frustrations in streaming remains the long gaps between seasons. “You can shoot eight to 10 episodes in one year — after already waiting six months just to get to set — and then have 18 months between seasons,” the agent said. “So in three years, you’re shooting 16 episodes.”
For writers hoping to run their own shows, broadcast offers a stronger training ground, according to another TV lit agent. “You’re getting to produce earlier and you’re involved in production while you’re writing,” the agent said.
Yet another agent argued clients can no longer afford to be overly selective. “Back when all the streamers were launching, it was an arms race for talent,” the agent said. “We could negotiate huge deals and everyone was making money doing cool sh-t.”
Even so, fears remain that the networks could abandon scripted programming altogether in favor of sports and news, and sports-rights costs are expected to further erode scripted budgets. A fourth TV agent summed it up bluntly: “It all comes from somewhere, right?”
