I recently watched a few episodes on "Manifest", a sci-fi show that aired on NBC.
I was taken aback at how amateur it looked, compared to the original programming you see on the major streaming channels and cable channels such as AMC and History.
It was bad. Horrible lighting, horrible effects, lousy sets. it looked like the quality of programming you'd see on TV back in the mid 1990s, and this show premiered in 2018!
My first thought was that the networks have lost it. They can't produce a TV show of the quality that HBO, Netflix, or even Amazon is doing. Even "Vikings" on the History Channel blew it out of the water in terms of production value!
What are they doing? They're so entrenched in the past, they've failed to innovate and keep up.
Sports is the only thing keeping the networks afloat, once they go, and they will, it’s all over for them.
” They can’t produce a TV show of the quality that HBO, Netflix, or even Amazon is doing.”
Broadcast tv is all about mass production. They crank out dozens of pilots a year, and then just cancel those that don’t catch on. So with that strategy in mind, it just doesn’t make sense for them to invest a lot in a show until it amasses an audience and they decide to extend it. Then you might see higher production values in seasons 2, 3, etc.