All for One or One for All?

If you haven’t heard the news, Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos doubled down on his company’s stance regarding the controversial Dave Chappelle & Ricky Gervais specials:

“We’re programming for a lot of diverse people who have different opinions and different tastes and different styles, and yet we’re not making everything for everybody,” Sarandos said. “We want something for everybody, but everything’s not going to be for everybody.”

That maybe a nice thought, but I’m sure when it comes to streaming services, Ted doesn’t want you watching another channel you might be interested in, he only wants you watching Netflix. Regardless where you stand on the ‘flix’s approach, it only seems like it received the Karmic backhand from Top Gun: Maverick’s 160 million dollar opening weekend. Wait? A movie that everyone seemed to enjoy? … and Ted’s own Stranger Things had an opening weekend so big it made a 1985 song a #1 hit on the charts again.

When television first started, and there were only 3 networks on the air primetime TV was made for everyone… classics we all know, Gilligan’s Island, The Adams Family, M*A*S*H, All in the Family, Cheers, Chips, the list goes on. There’s a good chance if you’re reading this, that you’ve seen at least one episode of the shows mentioend and never in my lifetime have I heard someone once mutter “Turn that Sh*t off, God I f**king hate Cheers.” We all love it and they all bring back some fun memories.

In our modern era of programming, has our country’s polarization also seeped into our taste for the arts? Are we only prone to consume material that we agree with ideologically? Can no two people be entertained the same way?

For the comedy specials, It’s understood that genre can be very subjective and not everyone weighs the same on the scale-o-funny. ?And we won’t argue that there were also other options to watch outside of primetime in the 1970’s. Soaps and Sports also dominated the old networks. Clearly there’s always been a calling for brands of taste. But that’s not to say in today’s modern world of entertainment, that we shouldn’t be trying to create programming that unites us. We should be swinging for the fences to create the most consumable programming popular. I mean, that’s how the economic model works? Supply and Demand.

So why is Top Gun killing it right now? I heard a theory that involves the pride of being an American. Others have said it’s the nostalgia of a different era in film. Also, who doesn’t love US Navy jets? (I mean, you better love ‘em because you paid for ‘em.) Regardless of your theory, people are flocking to the cinemas in droves. White, Black Asian & Latino, Republican and Democrat, Men and Women, old and young. We can still make this magic happen, this is the power of television & film.

The trick is to find the story… and everyone has an interesting story to tell, you just need to tell it in the right way. Only then you will be making everything for everybody.