Peak TV

English

Etymology

Coined by American television executive John Landgraf at a Television Critics Association event in 2015.

Proper noun

Peak TV

1. (television, neologism) A golden age of television generally held as beginning in the late 1990s and peaking in the 2010s, characterized by the proliferation of a large, diverse array of scripted shows coinciding with the rise of premium cable and streaming services.
   • 2018 June 12, Andrew Husband, “Binge this now: Why you should watch Amazon's 'Goliath'”, in Metro, New York, NY, page 21:

     This isn’t the most important reason, of course, but with “Peak TV” in full swing these days, time is precious, and the less time a new piece of entertainment takes, the better.

   • 2020 June, Radhika Jones, “Editor's Letter”, in Vanity Fair, page 16:

     Peak TV has meant a surfeit of shows for a growing but ever more fractured universe of consumers.

   • 2021, Judy Berman, "A whole world worth watching", Time Magazine, 15 February 2021 - 22 February 2021, page 110:

     And as a vital part of the long-tail economy that is Peak TV, shows from abroad have won over Americans who’ve dropped cable and now stuff their streaming queues with romantic Korean dramas or chilly Nordic thrillers or kinetic Japanese anime.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Peak TV.

Synonyms

• Prestige TV