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It started out small: the subscription-based television networks, once dedicated entirely to showing relatively recent films, experimented with developing and financing their own series. Some were hits, some were misses, but the first huge hit was HBO’s The Sopranos. This series showed us all that a television network with a huge budget and no reliance on advertisers can make a really great series—with few to none of the weaknesses we see in typical network-driven shows. Not only could they afford nearly film-level budgets while ignoring the now useless ‘ratings’ system which the other networks had come to rely on, they could also tell grittier stories. Without the FCC looking over its shoulder, like it did for any other cable station, the subscription channels were free from any censorship. They were free to be as bloody and booby as they liked. Early on, one station, Cinemax, even experimented heavily with soft-core porn, earning it the nickname Skin-a-max.
Drama, a mix of very 'grey' characters, bloody violence, and a sprinkling of tits became the formula for a great show.
After The Sopranos, HBO went on a roll of series after series, mostly dealing with gritty real world environments—such as the oddly dramatic funeral trade in Six Feet Under, the criminal underbelly of Baltimore in The Wire, the violent old west in Deadwood, and bloody tales of the Roman legion in Rome. HBO was the most successful, but not the only player. One of the best premium series was Dead Like Me on Showtime, though it didn’t pick up a large following, and did not continue far.
It wasn’t until HBO’s True Blood, in 2008, that we saw how good a fantasy series could be. Vampire stories might not be everyone’s cup of tea right now—having been deeply depopularized by the stupidity of the Twilight franchise—but there is no denying that this series’ production values have a huge impact on its quality, and that a series like this simply would not be possible without the budget of a subscription network. The fourth season of the show will debut in just a few weeks—but more important is the trend which follows.
Unleash the hounds
With the success of True blood it became obvious that much more could be done with the fantasy genre. Broadcast network fantasy dramas have always been a bit lackluster. We put up with shows like Xena, Buffy, and Legend of the Seeker because it was the best that network television could do. No more.
The stars of Noir are deadly hot chicks with guns. A live-action version with good production values will likely play well with American audiences.
This year, the excellent Game of Thrones series began: A series which uses those production dollars to create an epic, sweeping—can I use the word ‘gritty’ again?—tale to which the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Around the same time, Starz began a new series based on Arthurian legend called Camelot, which, while not as good as Game of Thrones, is still better than anything broadcast television has ever had to offer in this genre. And it doesn’t end there—Starz has also picked up the next season of the popular BBC Sci-fi mystery show Torchwood.
HBO recently announced the acquisition of a series called Hobgoblin, which is apparently the project that caused Darren Aronofsky to drop his directing chair over at the new Wolverine sequel. The story takes place during World War II, and follows a team of grifters and sleight-of-hand magicians who are forced to use their rather mundane abilities to secretly battle demonic forces called forth by the Nazis.
Also, Starz has ordered a season of a new show called simply Noir, based on the anime of the same name. This story follows a modern day team of two lady assassins, struggling to discover the secrets of their past, and survive the onslaughts and traps of an enemy organization.
I’m excited for both of these shows, but even more so for what the future may bring. It’s reached the point that everytime I hear about a new fantasy series coming to television, I hope that it gets picked up by HBO or Starz (Cinemax is still mostly porn, and Showtime doesn’t seem very excited about series after their early failures), even if that means an increased cost to watch, the price is well worth it.
A Star Trek / Star Wars crossover set in Hogwarts? Yes, please!
More. MORE.
What could be next? Lucas has been wanting to do a Star Wars live-action series for a long time, and can’t seem to find the budget. Maybe a talk with HBO is in order. How about a new Starz series based on the new Star Trek franchise? Perhaps the announcement Rowling is going to make in a few days is a new high-budget series set in and around Hogwarts.
With the showing of films on television becoming increasingly irrelevant due to the prevalence of on-demand services, these stations are going to have to turn somewhere for audience draw, and if that place is the creation of more and more great sci-fi and fantasy series, the winner will be everyone.
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