The Curious Case of TV’s Fall Lineup: Why We’re All Suddenly Obsessed With Historical Drama, Horror, and Financial Scandals
Is it just me, or has the fall TV schedule become a bizarre Rorschach test for our collective cultural psyche? Let’s unpack this: a Charles Dickens adaptation starring a Game of Thrones alumnus, a hyper-condensed American Horror Story season, a Gen-Z financial crime saga, and a magical boarding school drama. What does this mishmash say about where entertainment is heading? Let’s dissect the madness.
Kit Harington’s Return: From Dragons to Dickens
Yes, Jon Snow is back—this time wearing a powdered wig. MGM+’s A Tale of Two Cities drops Kit Harington into 18th-century France, a move that feels oddly perfect. Here’s why: Post-Game of Thrones, Harington’s been hunting for roles that balance gravitas with the kind of brooding intensity that made him a household name. Dickens’ Sydney Carton—a self-destructive lawyer entangled in a love triangle—is basically Jon Snow with better diction and worse fashion choices. But what makes this casting fascinating isn’t just typecasting; it’s the show’s gamble on historical drama in an age obsessed with dystopian futures. Personally, I think we’re seeing a quiet resurgence of period pieces precisely because they’re not about our world. Audiences crave escapism that feels ‘safe’—wars of the past, not climate collapse. Plus, let’s be honest: Who doesn’t want to see Harington duel François Civil while Mirren Mack rolls her eyes at their antics?
American Horror Story: The Death of the Slow Burn
FX’s decision to release AHS:13 in six curated chunks—three episodes, then two, then two again—feels like a network throwing up its hands and admitting defeat against streaming culture. Thirteen half-hour episodes? That’s practically a miniseries by 2023 standards. But here’s the twist: Horror anthologies thrive on immediacy. When you’re watching a show about a haunted house or a serial killer, spacing out episodes dilutes the fear factor. This scheduling choice might actually work in the show’s favor, creating a ‘binge-as-you-go’ model. Still, what this really suggests is that AHS is no longer appointment TV—it’s content. And if you ask me, that’s the real horror story here.
Why Are We Still Making Magic School Shows?
Let’s talk about Coven Academy. Freeform’s pitch—‘Power is currency, secrets are lethal, attraction is a liability’—sounds less like a logline and more like a LinkedIn motivational post. But why magic schools? The formula’s been overcooked since Harry Potter, yet studios keep circling back. My theory: Magic schools are the new high school dramas. They let writers smuggle in allegories about privilege, identity, and systemic corruption under the guise of ‘coming-of-age wizardry.’ Tiffani Thiessen and Devon Sawa’s casting? A cynical Gen-X nostalgia play, sure, but also a smart bridge to parents who’ll binge it with their teens. What many people don’t realize is that this show isn’t targeting 16-year-olds—it’s targeting 40-year-old fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch reruns.
The Altruists: Gen Z’s Bonnie & Clyde and Our True Crime Fatigue
Netflix’s The Altruists—about Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison—is the most disturbingly obvious project of the bunch. Casting Julia Garner as Ellison is inspired (her Ozark performance proved she can play morally ambiguous to perfection), but do we really need a dramatization of FTX’s collapse yet? We’re still living the aftermath. This raises a deeper question: When does true crime become exploitation? The show’s logline—‘idealists who tried to remake the global financial system’—already reeks of the same romanticizing language that made WeCrashed feel tone-deaf. In my opinion, we’re entering a phase where streaming platforms will mine financial scandals like gold prospectors, turning SEC filings into prestige TV. And honestly? I’m exhausted by it.
The Bigger Picture: What These Shows Reveal About Us
If you take a step back and think about it, these four projects mirror our current anxieties. A Tale of Two Cities reflects our craving for historical detachment. AHS:13 embodies our fractured attention spans. Coven Academy speaks to a longing for structured systems (even magical ones) in chaotic times. And The Altruists? That’s pure late-stage capitalism whiplash. The common thread? None of these stories are about the future. They’re all rearview mirror narratives—either literally (Dickens, the 1780s) or thematically (crypto’s collapse, horror’s retro tropes). A detail that I find especially interesting is how few of 2023’s fall shows dare to imagine a new world. They’re too busy dissecting the old ones.
Final Thoughts: Is This the End of ‘New’ TV?
Here’s the thing: I’m not mad at these shows. I’ll probably watch all of them. But if this lineup teaches us anything, it’s that Hollywood’s creativity is stuck in a feedback loop. Adaptations, sequels, and ripped-from-the-headlines dramas dominate because they’re ‘safe’ bets. What this really suggests is that we’re living through a transitional era—where streaming’s algorithmic demands clash with audiences’ hunger for novelty. The future of TV? Maybe it’s not in the past after all.
