COLUMN: Hey America, you're better than this
With today’s programming being dominated by the likes of Honey Boo Boo and teen moms, I feel completely underwhelmed and slightly frustrated at the current options. In fact, I now find myself increasingly more attracted to the BBC and U.K. television.
Now don’t get me wrong; there is the occasional show that grabs my interest and gives me hope that quality American content is on the rise.
"Modern Family," "Justified" and "Fringe" are all good examples of well-produced American shows. But that kind of quality is becoming progressively harder to find.
Every time I start a new BBC show, it always seems to be well-produced, well-written and it's always addicting. With shows like "Doctor Who" (a personal favorite), "Sherlock" and "Being Human," I always find myself entertained and impressed.
Now, you’re probably wondering about the American counterparts to many of these U.K. shows, like "The Office," "Being Human," "Skins," "Top Gear" and more. Yes, they’re out there, but they shouldn’t be. With the exception of the U.S. version of "The Office," almost all the other remade U.K. shows are disasters (I’m looking at you, "Being Human"). But that is a whole different conversation.
And who knows, maybe there is an untapped surplus of bad British reality TV, but luckily I haven’t found it yet.
So, as I sit and binge on all the BBC shows I can get my hands on, I’ve noticed that simply watching these well-produced shows has made me even more annoyed at the state of U.S. television.
There are so many bad shows to choose from in the U.S., and I find myself depressingly overwhelmed by the number of housewives and restaurant spies there are lurking in America.
Having a long-standing and often unhealthy habit of watching as many shows as I can find, from "Twin Peaks" to "Parks and Recreation," I’d like to think my extensive journey into the depths of U.S. television has given me enough credibility to make a statement similar to the following: Hey America, you’re better than this.
And maybe that’s the problem. Maybe I’ve watched and binged on so many shows that I’ve simply run out of good options here in the U.S., forcing me to venture elsewhere.
It’s not that I’m gravitating towards the BBC because of better programming. Rather, I'm being forced to the BBC because of the incredible volume of bad U.S. television.
I mean, "Amish Mafia." Really?
Networks like AMC, Showtime and Netflix leave me feeling hopeful that U.S. television will one day lure me back, but for now, I am happily and proudly part of Team BBC.
