With drama in Washington, TV shows find it hard to compete
Nearly 20 million people tuned in to former FBI director James Comey's hearing, while top political dramas drew less than half that. Viewership is down by about 20 percent this year.
People stand in line waiting to enter the Underwood 2016 booth near the Peace Center where the CBS News Republican presidential debate was to occur on Feb. 13, 2016, in Greenville, S.C. Frank Underwood is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Netflix show House of Cards. He is portrayed by Kevin Spacey.
John Bazemore/AP
An unpopular president was just elected, despite running against a party darling with an ideal r茅sum茅. The win came as a surprise: voter turnout among rural, white Republicans was high and Democrats didn鈥檛 show up to the polls.
Today, voters chant 鈥淣ot My President!鈥� outside of the White House gates, while pundits criticize the president鈥檚 authoritative tendencies.
No, this is not the tale聽of聽President Trump, but rather聽the fictional聽President Underwood from Netflix鈥檚 hit show, House of Cards.
While political comedy has entered聽a golden age聽under聽Mr.聽Trump, with聽鈥淪aturday聽Night Live鈥澛爓rapping up its most-watched season in 23 years, political dramas are losing their appeal. Viewership of hit TV shows like ABC鈥檚 鈥淪candal,鈥� NBC's 鈥淭he Blacklist,鈥� and CBS鈥檚 鈥淢adam Secretary鈥� has fallen by about 20 percent .
鈥淢adame Secretary," the most-watched show of the three, got . By comparison, the real-life hearing of former FBI Director James Comey last week drew an audience of nearly 20 million.
A variety of factors may be behind the decline: different show times, increased television options, or a natural waning of popularity. But an unusual presidency has likely also played a role, taking up Americans鈥� bandwidth for political drama and making it more difficult for creators to write storylines that don't get overtaken by headlines.
鈥淭here is a degree to which people are seeing fiction reflected in reality and reality reflected in the fiction,鈥� says Nikki Usher, a professor of media and public affairs at George Washington University in Washington. 鈥淎nd that can be disorienting to people.鈥�
Some viewers contacted by the Monitor say that they enjoy political dramas more since the election. The majority, however, say their interest has waned.
鈥淭he escapism is gone,鈥� said David Howard, a 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� fan from Pennsylvania.
Pining for a different West Wing
When 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� premiered in 2013, the White House was occupied by the Obamas 鈥� a supportive family unit that contrasted with the competitive marriage of Frank and Claire Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright.
But today, real-life political developments are so fascinating that many tune into that instead of drama, says Stef Woods, an instructor of American studies and media at American University in Washington. As a result, 鈥淗ouse of Cards鈥� has dropped from Netflix鈥檚 most popular show to No. 6,聽according to independent media company surveys reviewed by Ms. Woods.
鈥淚 haven鈥檛 watched the latest season,鈥� confesses Ms. Woods, who teaches a popular class on the show, 鈥渂ut I was sure to watch the Comey hearing.鈥�
However, other political dramas have seen a resurgence. According to聽, there was an influx of searches for 鈥淭he West Wing鈥� around the time of Trump鈥檚 election and inauguration 鈥� the highest spike since the popular show ended in 2006. VICE鈥檚 Motherboard聽聽that that was driven by liberals struggling to cope with Trump鈥檚 presidency, musing that an ideal 鈥� if fictional 鈥� Democratic president 鈥渋s available on-demand to soothe frayed nerves.鈥�
Entertainment as a mirror
Writers, producers, and actors say the Trump administration has made their job more difficult.
鈥淣ow, we have a hard time competing with reality,鈥� Kerry Washington, who plays 鈥淪candal鈥� main character Olivia Pope,聽. Shonda Rhimes, the creator and showrunner, had to rewrite the second half of Season 6 before it aired this spring because the plot line included Russia hacking the US presidential election 鈥撀燼 development that turned out to be too real for their fictional drama.
Just as writers鈥� imaginations are influenced by the same events shaping real-life politics, so some聽see the dramas鈥� influence on the Trump administration. The New York Times鈥� fashion section, for example,聽聽that some of first lady Melania Trump鈥檚 sartorial choices have been inspired by the fictional first lady of Netflix, Claire Underwood.
鈥淲e know that these shows are influencing real life,鈥� says Dr. Usher. 鈥淎ll of these forms of entertainment have a mirror.鈥�