Never Boring FX Justifies Its Reputation As TV's Best Network
by Adam Buckman
MediaPost.com
Jan 19, 2015 1:09 PM
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/241988/never-boring-fx-justifies-its-reputation-as-tvs-b.html
No network has provided more fodder for a TV columnist over the years
than FX.
For the past 12 years or so, this Fox-owned cable channel has produced
one iconic, groundbreaking show after another, including “The Shield,”
“Nip/Tuck,” “Rescue Me,” “Damages,” “Louie,” “It’s Always Sunny in
Philadelphia,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “Justified,” “The Americans,”
“American Horror Story,” “Fargo” and others.
“The Shield,” starring Michael Chiklis, changed cop shows forever.
“Louie,” starring Louis CK, changed sitcoms just as significantly. Both
shows, along with the rest of them, broke all kinds of barriers and
taboos for advertiser-supported TV shows –- language, nudity, sex,
violence -- you name it.
It hasn’t always been pretty, and it hasn’t always been appropriate
either (at least from a persnickety critic’s standpoint). And yet, FX
has accomplished something that not too long ago would have been
unthinkable -- namely, successfully selling spots within programs whose
contents were once out of bounds. Or to put it another way, FX airs
shows that are often as challenging (if not extreme) in their contents
as the shows on pay-cable HBO, but FX remains a basic-cable network with
commercials.
For me, FX has made life interesting. The taboo-shattering shows on FX
have provided the subject matter for countless columns -– whether I
liked the shows or not.
For the record, I loved “The Shield,” and have long regarded it has one
of the finest shows I have ever encountered in my career. I also loved
“Louie,” “Rescue Me,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “Justified.”
“Justified” happens to be the catalyst for this blog post because
tomorrow night (Jan. 20), “Justified” will start its sixth and final
season. In case you didn’t know, it’s a police drama -- based on
characters created by Elmore Leonard -- set in a crime-ridden rural
county of Kentucky. I am going to miss this show when it’s over.
Like many other FX shows (the recently dearly departed “Sons of Anarchy”
comes to mind), “Justified” is addictive, owing to the quality and style
of its storytelling. Like most of the shows on FX, “Justified” is an
unabashed serial -– the kind of show whose episodes are suitable for
watching either one at a time or clustered together.
When episodes of FX shows end, they leave me wanting more. Moreover, you
never know how long an episode will be. In the interest (presumably) of
fostering creativity and loosening restrictions on story structure,
episodes of FX dramas vary greatly in length. They’re often more than an
hour, which feels like a gift when you’re reluctant to see an episode
reach its end.
Based on the wide variety of shows that FX has presented over the years,
FX is my favorite network -- although I can’t admit to loving all of the
original series FX has aired. Far from it.
I like “The Americans,” but I didn’t love “Damages.” I didn’t care for
“Dirt,” the Courteney Cox comedy about a tabloid newspaper, and I really
disliked “Over There,” a drama series Steven Bochco produced about the
Iraq War.
I don’t particularly care for “American Horror Story” and unlike just
about everybody else, I was repelled by the extreme -- and in my
opinion, gratuitous -- violence of the first season of “Fargo.”
And I happened to love a handful of FX shows that didn’t last, including
the long ago Las Vegas comedy called “Lucky” and the drama called “The
Riches” about a family of American gypsies. On the other hand, the
Charlie Sheen comedy called “Anger Management” does nothing for me (or
for few others either).
Oh, well. Every network has its ups and downs, winners and losers. But
few, if any, are as consistently fascinating and unpredictable in their
programming choices as FX.
Receiving a new press kit with preview DVDs of upcoming FX shows has
long made for some of the most rewarding and challenging days in my
working life. May it continue to be so, long after “Justified” has
breathed its last.
The final season of “Justified” starts on Tuesday night (Jan. 20) at 10
Eastern on FX.
--
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Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927
Political Science Mail: antunes at uh dot edu
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-3011
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