The peak of television may be coming to an end. At least, that’s what FX’s John Landgraf discussed during TCA’s winter press tour where he revealed in his annual tally of original series that in 2022 there were 599 original series, per Collider’s own Carly Lane. That’s up 39 from the 560 original series in 2021.
Although he admitted it’s tough to predict, Landgraf shared a “strong indication that we’ll see a decline in 2023.” He continued, “That is still my bet, while noting with humility that I’ve been wrong on this prediction twice before.” He pointed out that one of the indicators that peak TV is coming to an end was a drop-off of new series during the second part of last year. New series were down by 2 percent from 252 in 2021 to 248 in 2022, which is a marked change from the first half of the year when it was up.
The Chairman of FX Content & FX Productions initially kicked off the conversation surrounding “peak television” in 2015 with his remark that “there is simply too much television.” Today, he reiterated his belief that 2022 will be the “peak” of peak TV during an executive session at TCA.
FX launched a number of these new shows mentioned by Landgraf last year including the Steve Carell-led The Patient, Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s novel adaptation Fleishman Is in Trouble, The Bear starring Shameless actor Jeremy Allen White, Under the Banner of Heaven, based on Jon Krakauer’s true crime bestseller, the rock and roll evolution miniseries Pistol, Jeff Bridges-starring The Old Man, as well as the return of the critically-acclaimed series Atlanta created by Donald Glover.
During its presentation at the TCA press tour today, FX also announced the premiere date for the third season of Dave Burd’s comedy series Dave, which will debut on Wednesday, April 5 at 10 pm ET/PT on FXX before becoming available to stream on Hulu the next day.
The premiere dates for two documentaries and a docuseries from FX were also announced. The New York Times Presents: Sin Eater, a two-part documentary about infamous Hollywood P.I. Anthony Pellicano, will debut Friday, March 10 at 10 pm ET simultaneously on FX and Hulu. FX’s The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla also premieres Friday, April 7 at 10 pm ET on FX and Hulu. FX’s Dear Mama, a five-part docuseries exploring the lives and legacies of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, is set to premiere Friday, April 21 at 10 pm ET/PT on FX with the first two episodes, followed by one new episode each week.