I loved Yellowstone's first season. By the second, I saw the repetitive plot points. By the third, pure repetition. Watched maybe one episode of season 4 and haven't watched it since.
So much of TV, and many movies, is formulaic. Any John Wick fan, which I am, can ID the EXACT same plot in Nobody. The instant they intro'd the bad guy, I said aloud, "Well, poo," or something similar. Different actors, same story.
A new TV show we watched this week is "The Irrational." Same formula as many other cop/detective shows like NCIS. My wife knows that the instant I pick up my phone and stop watching the show, or go into another room, I just I'D whodunit, and I'm rarely wrong.
Formula = predictive advertising dollars and inoffensive social media comments, whether good or bad. Turns out that's actually what the majority of people want to watch because familiar plots are escapist and unchallenging. Take Hallmark movies for example. Same actors and variations on a theme. Their formula is cast in epoxy. And yes, my wife and I watch Hallmark movies and make a game out of ID'ing the plot twists. We shout "too soon" when the first kiss is interrupted mid-movie, then "cue the snow" at the first kiss in their Christmas movies, which is usually the last scene.
Originality suffers for profits.
Rant over.
Ray
