Carissa’s Corner: From Boom to Bleak — What the Hell Happened to Fall TV?

There was a time when Fall TV meant something: new seasons, new shows, and a reason to count down to premiere week.

In 2015, broadcast networks came in hot. ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and The CW unleashed a scripted wave of dramas, comedies, genre swings, and potential watercooler hits. 

You didn’t need five streaming subscriptions and an Excel sheet (although let’s be honest, all the cool TV fanatics had one) to keep up. You just needed your TV, a DVR (if you were fancy), and a little time to sink into the stories being told.

Fast forward to 2025, and it’s bleak. Scripted programming hasn’t just declined. It’s been gutted.

And if you’re wondering where the baton got dropped… well, the answer’s messier than you think.

• Chicago Fire Blows It All Up Before the Finale — Literally and Emotionally
  by Carissa Pavlica
• Chicago Med Season 10 Episode 21 Offers A Gut-Wrenching Lead-In To The Season Finale, But Also Sets Up An Unnecessarily Violent Story
  by Jack Ori
• The Rookie Season 7 Finale Cliffhangers Are a Frustrating Case of Déjà vu
  by Jasmine Blu

2015: When Broadcast Still Had Backbone

Let’s start with the numbers. In 2015, the broadcast networks offered:

• 49 scripted dramas
  
• 20 comedies
  

That’s 69 scripted shows on free TV.

It wasn’t always pretty. Some shows flopped hard (Heartbreaker, Minority Report, Of Kings and Prophets — anyone?). But networks took swings. They weren’t afraid to try something bold and weird or give a mid-tier actor their first shot at lead.

You had comedy lineups that actually flowed. Genre programming had a foothold. Prestige drama existed alongside sci-fi and family-friendly fare. And competition was fierce. Multiple shows went head-to-head for our attention — and our loyalty.

Yes, streaming was emerging, but networks still felt like the beating heart of TV, and they were still willing to bet big.

2025: Shrinking Lineups, Shrinking Ambition

Now? We’re down to:

• 23 dramas
  
• 12 comedies
  

Just 35 scripted shows across the big networks — half of what we had ten years ago.

FOX is barely hanging onto anything live-action outside of animation. NBC is giving primetime over to sports.

ABC is leaning into a bare-bones lineup, and CBS, while still investing in franchise drama, is clearly scaling back.

• Carissa’s Corner: From Boom to Bleak — What the Hell Happened to Fall TV?
  by Carissa Pavlica
• The Best Thing The Vampire Diaries Ever Did Was Give Us The Originals
  by Jasmine Blu
• NBC’s “Slam Dunk” Is an Egregious Foul Against Loyal Viewers
  by Jasmine Blu

The few scripted series that remain are largely safe bets or spinoffs:

• NCIS, NCIS: Origins, NCIS: Sydney
  
• FBI, CIA
  
• 9-1-1, 9-1-1: Nashville
  
• Law & Order, SVU
  
• Chicago Med, Fire, PD
  

It’s as if the networks huddled together and said, “Let’s not try anything new. Let’s not compete. Let’s just ride this out.”

And that’s exactly what it feels like: surrender.

The Cultural Shift Nobody Talks About

Here’s the part that makes my blood boil.

Traditionally, sports were for men, and scripted broadcast TV skewed female. Dramas. Romances. Family dynamics. Emotional storytelling. Women showed up — and kept the lights on.

But advertisers didn’t care.

They drooled over the 18–34 male demo, as if women didn’t buy anything, watch anything, or exist in the Nielsen household. And now that sports have eaten primetime alive, it’s as if women have been erased from the equation entirely.

• Can We Take A Moment To Appreciate Tamara Tunie’s Many Talents?
  by Jack Ori
• 9-1-1: Outrageous Theories Manifesting Bobby’s Posthumous Return
  by Denis Kimathi
• The Traitors Needs a Major Revamp. Here’s What I’d Change
  by Tiffany Bailey

Sure, sports make money.

But they’ve become the new default — and they’ve done it by replacing, not supplementing, the types of stories that used to matter. If you’re not into football, reality sludge, or another game show reboot, your TV has very little left for you.

Streaming Didn’t Save Us — But It Might

For a few years, streaming gave us hope: new voices, bold formats, and the luxury of watching on our own schedule.

But now? That energy has stalled.

Netflix stopped experimenting. Amazon traded character arcs for intellectual property. Apple TV+ — once a beacon of potential — has gotten lost in a sea of lifeless prestige limited series. Beautiful, expensive, soulless.

And yet…

There are signs of life.

• Max just hit big with The Pitt, a serialized drama that felt like something we might’ve seen on CBS in a different era — but sharper, darker, and smarter. Up next is Duster, and it actually looks promising.
  
• Paramount+ is quietly mimicking the old broadcast model. Multiple Taylor Sheridan-produced dramas air weekly, not all at once. There’s usually more than one running simultaneously. Is it mostly neo-Westerns? Sure. But at least it’s something.
  
• Apple TV+ still has money — and if it recalibrates toward long-running dramas instead of vanity projects, it could become the new home for broadcast refugees looking for something with legs.
  

• If You’re Not Watching These 7 Shows on Netflix, You’re Missing Out
  by Alicea James
• 7 Sci-Fi Series from the ‘80s We Want to Revisit
  by Alicea James
• Broadcast TV Is Wrapping Up. Here Are the Streaming Shows Worth Your Time!
  by Whitney Evans

Streaming isn’t dead; it just needs a purpose. Companies that figure out how to deliver weekly, character-driven, long-arc storytelling might just win back the audience that broadcast has abandoned. But are they even looking?

Networks Used to Fight for Us

In 2015, networks gambled. A lot of those shows didn’t survive. Some didn’t even finish airing. But they tried.

They put pilots into production. They gave fresh voices a shot. They wanted our attention.

Now? They’re too afraid to fail. Which means they’re already failing.

When you stop swinging, you stop winning. And audiences — especially women, especially fans of scripted storytelling — have fewer and fewer reasons to show up.

So Where Does That Leave Us?

Right here. Talking about it.

The fall season used to feel like TV’s New Year — full of possibility. Now it feels like an afterthought. Or worse, a funeral.

• American Gladiators Reboot Has a Superstar Host With Mike “The Miz” Mizanin
  by Matt Couden
• ABC Bermuda Triangles Doctor Odyssey & Benches Two Fan-Favorites in Fall Schedule
  by Jasmine Blu
• Sharpen Your Knives, Cousins, The Bear Has a Premiere Date (And Yes, It’s a Binge)
  by Jasmine Blu

We didn’t stop caring about scripted TV. The people in charge just stopped caring that we cared.

But we’re still here. And if anyone wants to build something worth watching again — we’ll show up.

Every time.

If you read this whole thing — wow, we’re impressed.
Please consider leaving a comment or sharing it with someone who might enjoy it too. Small actions, big impact — that’s how you help sites like ours thrive.

TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across a variety of different articles. Do you think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.

The post Carissa’s Corner: From Boom to Bleak — What the Hell Happened to Fall TV? appeared first on TV Fanatic.