You becoming a smash hit on Netflix after barely generating buzz on Lifetime "is perhaps the most stark example yet of the iron grip Netflix has on younger viewers, and a fascinating case study for where the increasingly fractured future of TV is headed," says Emily Yahr. She adds: "For one thing, it shows basic cable channels that rely on scripted content are in for a uniquely tough road ahead. They don’t offer easy binge-watching like streaming services; they don’t have news or sports like broadcast networks; they can’t be R-rated like premium channels; and they don’t have the budget to cast, say, Julia Roberts (Amazon Prime’s Homecoming) or Emma Stone (Netflix’s Maniac). Plus, as former network executive Tom Nunan said, even if they could afford a major movie star, who knows whether their audience would watch?" Variety TV critic Daniel D'Addario perhaps put it best when he tweeted earlier this week: "The more I think about it, the more I think You flailing on Lifetime and being treated by the viewing public as a Netflix original is going to be remembered as a major turning point in what will shortly be a contraction of the TV industry." Penn Badgley, in an email to The Washington Post, says he wasn't stunned by differing reactions: "We’re grateful to Lifetime for being the gateway to getting the show made. We wouldn’t have been able to make the show without them, as far as I can tell,” Badgley said. “There is no sense of bewilderment that the show had one reaction while it was on Lifetime and another when it went to Netflix. The difference in viewership is obvious, and it’s indicative of so many different things, not the least of which is the way young people consume media.”
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TOPICS: You (Netflix series), Lifetime, Netflix, Penn Badgley, Peak TV