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TV This Week

What ‘Powers’ says about the growing content glut

PlayStation Network's first original scripted series wraps season two

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

July 19, 2016

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content Last year, FX Networks released a report noting a record 409 scripted series were produced in 2015. The report came months after network president John Landgraf told reporters on the summer Television Critics Association tour that there is “simply too much television.”

The bubble, FX predicted, is going to burst. It’s just a matter of when.

Since then, media buyers and planners have been mulling over the question of when. Do, many wonder, so many outlets need to produce their own content? Are we making so much TV that shows can come and go without even being noticed?

That seems a particularly relevant question today, as the second-season finale of “Powers,” PlayStation Network’s first original series, drops.

Oddly, Powers began as an FX production five years ago, but after the network had trouble finding the right cast and tone, PSN picked it up. When the show, based on a Marvel comic about a world where superheroes and regular people live together, finally debuted, it received mixed reviews.

Lost in the great stew of video content

The question is whether it’s worth continuing on PSN. PlayStation has not released viewership numbers for the show, and it doesn’t generate appreciable buzz. That seems to further FX’s point that it’s easy for content to get lost amidst the glut of programming being produced.

These days you can find shows on TV, of course, but also on streaming video on demand services and over-the-top services. CBS All Access, for instance, has two new shows in production that won’t even air on broadcast, while Crackle, Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and more produce dozens of programs.

Still, at some point many on the edge of the content glut, such as PSN, will need to decide whether it’s worth trying to fight with those other services for viewers.

The answer may not become clear right away, so expect this to play out in the next several years.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
TUESDAY, JULY 19
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 a.m.	PSN	“Powers” (D)	PlayStation Network’s first original series ends its second season with the release of its 10th and final episode.
8 p.m.	USA	“WWE Smackdown” (T)	WWE’s perennial male soap opera moves from Thursdays to its new night, where it should make a potent combo with USA’s “WWE Raw” on Monday nights.
8 p.m.	Various cable news channels	“2016 Republican National Convention” (N)	Fox News, MSNBC and CNN devote their entire primetime hours to their talking head experts and anchors analyzing convention floor speeches as they’re happening.
8 p.m.	Food Network	“Chopped Junior” (R)	Season finale. Fish and colored tubes are must-use ingredients for the young finalists in this cooking competition.
9 p.m.	The CW	“Containment” (D)	One of the few CW shows to get the boot last season, “Containment” airs its series finale. Can Lex shut down Dr. Lommers for good? She better because there won’t be a second season for her to try again.
10 p.m.	FYI	“Teenage Newlyweds” (R)	Season finale. How have the three couples of young newlyweds fared during their first few months of marriage?
WEDNESDAY, JULY 20
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	CBS’s perennial summer hit show airs an hour earlier, along with new summer series “American Gothic” at 9 p.m., to make room for CBS News’ 10 p.m. coverage of the Republican National Convention.
9 p.m.	E!	“EJ NYC” (R)	Season finale. EJ celebrates his birthday in the Hamptons and gets his first shot at a fashion gig since moving into Gotham.
9 p.m.	ESPN 2	“2016 VEX Robotics Championship” (R)	Remember when ESPN 2 aired all kinds of stuff nobody had ever heard of? Relive that old feeling with this robot vs. robot competition event, originating from Louisville, KY.
10 p.m.	Bravo	“The Bravos” (R)	During a special primetime episode of “Watch What Happens Live,” Mariah Carey gets a lifetime achievement award and singer Erika Jayne performs.
10 p.m.	Various Networks	“2016 Republican National Convention” (N)	If tradition is followed (a big “if” this year) tonight will be Mike Pence’s introduction to the world as Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, and his best chance to impress an audience until the debates later this year.
11 p.m.	HBO	“Real Time with Bill Maher” (C)	Two half-hour specials air Wednesday and Thursday after convention coverage wraps up. Available for non-subscribers on “Real Time’s” YouTube Channel and Maher’s Facebook page the day after they air.
THURSDAY, JULY 21
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	NBC	“Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge” (R)	Two-hour season finale. The top six teams face the most difficult course yet. The winner will be crowned Spartan champion.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Bones” (D)	”Bones” wraps its 11th (and next-to-last) season with Brennan and Booth trying to catch The Puppeteer, a serial killer who disposes of the bodies of his/her victims years after living with them.
8 p.m.	SyFy	“SyFy Presents: Live from Comic-Con” (A)	“Arrested Development’s” Will Arnett hosts three nightly hour-long primetime specials, live from San Diego, featuring celebrity interviews and coverage of the day’s Comic-Con panels/events.
9 p.m.	HGTV	“Flip or Flop” (R)	Just when a house seems to be too good to be true, Tarek and Christina discover there’s a lot more work to be done than they initially thought.
9 p.m.	Reelz	“Royal Secrets” (N)	Back-to-back episodes of Reelz’s docu-series looks at Prince William’s popularity and the torrid romance that forced Edward VII to advocate his throne.
10 p.m.	Various Networks	“2016 Republican National Convention” (N)	There’s only one thing you can be certain about Donald Trump’s acceptance speech, and he’d be the first to say it: ”It’s going to be HUGE!” (In the ratings.)
FRIDAY, JULY 22
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 a.m.	Netflix	“Bojack Horseman” (C)	Season premiere of Netflix’s show about a horse living as a has-been TV star from the 1990s. All 12 episodes of the show’s third season drop today.
3 a.m.	Netflix	“Degrassi: The Next Generation” (K)	All 10 episodes of the show’s 16th season drop at 3 a.m., so wake the kids up and have an overnight marathon. It’s not a school night, and the sunrise looks lovely this time of the year.
7 p.m.	Disney	“Elena of Avalor” (K)	Hour-long (well, 51 minutes, actually) series premiere of new animated series starring Elena, Disney’s first Latina princess. “Star Trek’s” George Takei guest stars as the voice of King Toshu.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Big Brother” (R)	A special airing of “Big Brother” should do well on a night when most network TV offerings are either repeats or newsmagazines.
9 p.m.	NatGeo Wild	“Cesar 911” (R)	Truffles, a shih tzu/Pomeranian mutt, barks and bites at everyone within reach. Can Cesar Milan change this adorable creature’s ugly behavior?
10 p.m.	Telemundo	“Senora Acero 3: La Coyote” (D)	End of debut week for the third cycle of Telemundo’s hit series about immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Will its ratings be as big as just-departed “Senor de los Cielos’” numbers were?
SATURDAY, JULY 23
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	Cartoon Network	“Pokemon: The Series” (K)	Gotta wake up early to catch the latest episode of this long-running animated series, whose ratings should benefit from the hype surrounding the “Pokemon GO” game.
8 p.m.	Fox	“UFC Fight Night” (S)	Live from Chicago, it’s three UFC matches culminating with a women’s bantamweight title match between Valentina Shevchenko and Holly Holm.
9 p.m.	ABC	“20/20: In an Instant” (N)	Season finale for this spin-off summer series from ABC’s newsmagazine chronicling natural disasters. Title of this episode: “Buried by Bonfire.”
9 p.m.	AMC	“Hell on Wheels” (D)	It’s time to collect the rewards and/or face the consequences for the survivors of the Golden Spike rush during the show’s series finale.
10 p.m.	HBO	“Looking: The Movie” (M)	Unlike with “Deadwood,” fans of the just-canceled HBO series get closure with this 90-minute made-for-TV movie, in which the gang reunites to attend an old friend’s wedding.
11 p.m.	TBS	“Conan” (C)	First of two weekend special airings of Conan O’Brien’s late-night show, taped at San Diego’s Comic-Con, featuring the cast of Warner Brother’s new superhero movie franchise “Suicide Squad.”
SUNDAY, JULY 24
Time	Network	Program	Description
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Tour Golf” (S)	Final-round coverage of the RBC Canadian Open, live from Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario.
8 p.m.	MTV	“2016 MTV Fandom Awards” (A)	Petco Park in San Diego hosts a battle of hardcore fans and pop culture nerds. Will “Deadpool” fans overwhelm “Captain America’s?” How about the “Teen Wolf” and “Star Wars” brigades? Tune in to see who’s left standing by the end.
10 p.m.	AMC	“Geeking Out” (T)	Sneak preview of AMC’s new talk show co-hosted by filmmaker Kevin Smith (“Comic Book Men”) and actor Greg Grunberg (“Heroes”).
10 p.m.	History	“Ozzy and Jack’s World Tour” (R)	Ozzy Osbourne and son Jack hit the road on a 10-episode trip through historic landmarks.
10 p.m.	Starz	“Survivor’s Remorse” (D)	Third-season premiere of this LeBron James-produced series, which opens with Cam Calloway (Jessie T. Usher) and his family dealing with the sudden death of someone important in their lives.
11 p.m.	TBS	“Conan” (C)	Considering how few episodes of “Game of Thrones” are left and how far they are from airing, this gathering of the show’s stars on “Conan” should be like heavenly manna for starved “GOT” enthusiasts.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.