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MSGRiley OP t1_jct2aq9 wrote

Reply to comment by PM_me_tus_tetitas in Avenue 5 by MSGRiley

Hey, spoiler alert, I'm only 2 shows into the 2nd season! ; ) But yeah, first season did make me laugh a lot more. Now I'm just sad and mildly amused.

I've already noticed that they seem to have kind of run into the same writers block that a lot of shows run into early on. All the elements are there, people being horrible, technology geared toward the ADHD, influencers and personalities being horrible people but I'm just confused as to some of the motivations of some of the characters now.

If you look you can see that the writers, directors and teleplay authors change from episode to episode, which may be what's happening, no long term goals by anyone save maybe Armando. Dunno. I'm going to probably finish the 2nd season. Morbid curiosity and all.

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NobodyTellPoeDameron t1_jctasl9 wrote

My wife and I both thought both seasons were hilarious. Sad that we won’t get a season three.

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MSGRiley OP t1_jctb1ok wrote

Well, I'm only a couple into season two. Maybe it will pick up.

It's annoying that studios don't commit to the shows anymore. They're staring at the ratings in real time and the moment they go under a certain line it's like "cut it". Used to be that smart television people had vision and built a product into what people wanted. They crafted shows like art. Now it's just spam and ratings to see what is making money and what isn't. "Try this, how'd it do? OK, try this now."

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Mentoman72 t1_jctlwrm wrote

Idk, this show got absolutely no buzz when it aired. I watched both seasons concurrently and hardly anyone was ever talking about it. It's also not great. It's fine. Funny in places. Hard meh from me personally with the exception of a couple episodes.

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NobodyTellPoeDameron t1_jctbh3t wrote

Yeah it’s very disappointing. I think Avenue 5 was a juicy target for cost cutting because of the high sci fi budget for the show and relatively low ratings.

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MSGRiley OP t1_jctbmvj wrote

I think what studios don't appreciate is that good scifi shows are slow to build ratings but, once built, can develop die hard fans willing to spend all kinds of money on it.

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koreth t1_jcundvg wrote

I’m curious what leads you to the conclusion that things used to be different. I don’t remember a time when cancellations were rare.

Here’s one analysis that squares with how I remember things. This is from over 10 years ago: TV Success Rate: 65% Of New Shows Will Be Canceled (& Why It Matters)

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MSGRiley OP t1_jcuo4yv wrote

I was kind of looking at the entire history of Television, not just the last 10 years. Yes, I wasn't alive for all of it, but I do enjoy the idea of crafting a show, like a play, and then working to make it better rather than slathering on 50 different writers hoping for magic every time and waiting to cancel like a relative that stands to inherit millions hovering over the plug of a dying old coot.

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NanoGeek t1_jcvtmxe wrote

The original Star Trek was very nearly cancelled after its second season. Only a fan write in campaign saved it for one final season.

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SynthD t1_jcubtdm wrote

That’s a reach. Some of the writers came from Peep Show.

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klaygotsnubbed t1_jcviv84 wrote

i watched season 2 as it aired weekly and thought the first 2 episodes weren’t that good compared to season 1, but i remember afterwards it easily became the better season

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hannahstohelit t1_jcvv5xt wrote

My understanding is that there was a writer's room, with each individual episode being mainly written by one member- not uncommon for shows. But they all did work together with Iannucci.

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