Chairman of FX Entertainment, FX Content & FX Productions John Landgraf is a very smart guy and obviously cares very deeply about the television industry.
He's also very aware that reporters are always looking for a story and they are naturally drawn to ones which have an easy-to-digest log line.
In 2015, Landgraf appeared in front of the twice-a-year get-together of TV critics at the Television Critics Association gathering and unveiled what might arguably be one of the most successful PR pitches in the history of the medium: Peak TV.
He presented data compiled by FX's research folks, which among other things tracked the number of new English-language scripted originals released over the past year in the United States. And as the number rose each year, the idea has sparked an entire cottage industry of think pieces that argue the television industry produces too many new shows.
The Peak TV number is almost irrestible to reporters, even though the number doesn't really represent a usable metric for the health or even the growth of the television and streaming TV business. Yes, tracking the number of new English-language scripted originals released in the U.S. is interesting.
But it doesn't actually provide any accurate sense of the health of the TV industry. Any more than you can judge the health of Quaker Oats by tracking how many boxes of Cap'n Crunch it sold over the past decade.
I made a much-longer argument all these lines when Landgraf presented the latest set of Peak TV figures in January 2023.
Since I already collect every premiere, finale and special into a year-long list, I wanted to see if I could try and estimate the number of original shows based on the criteria used by FX's researchers in past presentations.
That turned out to be more difficult than you might expect. Here are the guidelines FX has said they have used in previous years to determine that Peak TV number:
"includes scripted series that aired/dropped new episodes in the given calendar year and attributed to the first platform on which it aired. Excludes library, daytime dramas, one-episode specials, non-English language/English-dubbed, children's programs and short-term content."
The problem I ran into was that because of the complicated way so many shows are made these days, including multi-country co-productions, deciding when a show was actually an originals versus one that was licensed three months after it premiered in a different country turned out to sometimes be a judgement call.
2023 also included a number of shows which had their seasons split into two halves. Would a scripted original which had a "spring premiere" in 2023 make the list? Based on the explanation provided by the network, I decided yes. But I am hoping at some point to get clarification from the FX research folks.
It's certainly possible I missed some shows or wrongly categorized a few. But I think this is a pretty accurate rundown given that I am just one reporter who also serves as his own research department.
But based on my research, 404 original scripted series aired/streamed in the United States in 2023. And while that number is the lowest the industry has seen since 2014, it's impossible to know how much of the number is the result of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes and how much is the result of whatever content spending contraction that is currently taking place in Hollywood. 
Will my number be close to FX's estimate for 2023? I suppose I'll find out in February when I expect Landgraf will present the latest numbers from the FX research department.
In case you'd like to check my data, here is the complete list of the 404 titles I used for this estimate.
And if you are interested in seeing a rundown of every show premiere, finale, movie and special that aired in 2023, I have the complete list here.
In the meantime, I've included my work in this list. If you want to provide additional information or correct something, you can email me at
