What’s considered to be a “classic” is rather subjective. The classics of one generation are not the classics to other generations. When I think of a classic TV show I think of shows like Seinfeld. Seinfeld is a show that no matter what generation you are from you will have heard of it. Whether or not you have watched it, know someone that watches, or it has just come up in passing conversation. This show is the perfect example of cultural heritage because it was selected by society purely by the viewership rate which kept Seinfeld on air on television for 9 years with a new season per year.
Today, Seinfeld is still watched on popular streaming services like Netflix. Netflix reported back in November of 2021, to have 2.7 billion minutes of viewership, 595 million of which was from Seinfeld. This show is a piece of entertainment that brings people from different generations together and gives them a common interest. This is important because, when people from different generations share a common interest it shrinks the so-called “generational gap” shrinking the difference between generations. The importance of “bridging the gap” between generations is paramount in maintaining social cohesion in a society.
Nathan, the prompt asks you to focus on the last decade (something that became visible as a classic during the 2010s). So “Seinfeld” wasn’t exactly the kind of thing I was looking for. However, when you consider its afterlife in terms of streaming, that seems like a 2010s phenomenon! How influential is streaming in determining which shows, or what kind of shows, become classics? Will it/has it already reshaped our understanding of classic television? (Netflix started streaming in 2013.). When you put older shows, produced in a different industry, into a format where viewer’s expectations have been changed by the “binge-watching” paradigm, what changes?
(By the way, when writing on the blog, you can link sources: eg, the source for your streaming numbers data for the show).
I definitely agree that “Seinfeld” is a tool used to bridge the generational gap. Another show that is similar to “Seinfeld” is “Friends.” “Friends” was a very popular TV show in the 1990s and has carried on its presence to Generation Z. People young and old can share their love for the TV show that never seems to get old.