We are not going back to the monoculture of M A S H* or The Cosby Show , where 30 million people watched the same thing on the same night. That world is gone. But in its place is something potentially more interesting: a thousand passionate, engaged tribes, each loyal to a different flavor of quality.
Consider the phenomenon of Ted Lasso . On paper, it’s a comedy about an American football coach in a soccer world. In practice, it became a global balm because it prioritized radical kindness and emotional vulnerability over cynicism. Or consider Beef on Netflix—a road-rage saga that spiraled into a raw, uncomfortable, and deeply authentic exploration of class resentment, trauma, and the absurdity of adult performance. Viewers didn’t just watch these shows; they felt seen . wwwtoptenxxxcom better