HBO’s “Game Of Thrones” and its later spin-off show “House Of The Dragon” dominated the fantasy genre in the past decade. The show succeeded in bringing fantasy to the front of mainstream pop culture.
Unfortunately, many have speculated that the show might have unwittingly become a hamper to the fantasy genre in television for years to come.
“Game Of Thrones” elevated the audience and executive expectations of what fantasy should be on screen. From hour-long episodes to film-quality CGI and costume design, media companies saw the success of that franchise and jumped at the chance to create a series that could rival it.
This has led to shows like “The Lord of the Rings: Rings Of Power”, and “Wheel of Time”, which had stellar visuals but whose storytelling left a lot to be desired from an audience perspective.
That said, fantasy hasn’t completely fallen out of favor. Popular shows like Netflix’s “Arcane”, “The Legend of Vox Machina”, and “The Sandman” prove that the interest in fantasy still exists. Even older shows like “Once Upon a Time” and “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” still manage to pull in new fans.
Studios have forgotten that they don’t need amazing visuals to tell a good fantasy story, not if it sacrifices good writing. Instead of discarding high-budget productions, studios shouldn’t be afraid of betting on projects with a lower budget.
Unfortunately, with the help of streaming services, the structure of television shows has completely changed. While the current television format has certainly helped shows like Game of Thrones explode in popularity, it has also led to many of the production costs that have ballooned TV show budgets in the past few years.
While it might seem impossible now, with enough attention, studios are noticing these issues. Hopefully, they’ll be able to correct the course, and the quality of television will improve.
