FX published the latest edition of its classic Peak TV ranking, which in 2020 registered its first fall since 2010.
For the first time in 10 years since FX began measuring the number of scripted series produced in the US, its now famous Peak TV ranking finally registered a drop in 2020.
According to FX, last year a total of 493 series were produced in the US, 7% less than the 532 of 2019.
Since 2010 when FX began measuring, its CEO, John Landgraf, has been forecasting that the production industry would soon reach a “peak” before dropping to more manageable numbers. Year after year he has been wrong, until now.
However, everything indicates that more than having finally reached the expected “Peak TV”, the fall is mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which affected the plans of networks and platforms throughout the year (and continues to do so).
The drop is even less credible if you take into account the recent OTT platforms launches such as Disney+, HBO Max, Apple TV+ or Peacock, which logically should further boost the number of new series.
In 2010, the year of the first FX study, the number of original series released in the US was 216. Since then it has not stopped rising until it has doubled in 2019.
With 493 series, 2020 is at the levels of 2018, when 495 series were released.
