FX chief: Viewers in danger of peak TV’s story overload

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – FX’s top executive says television is in danger of storytelling overload with diminishing returns to viewers.

John Landgraf, CEO of FX Networks, told a TV critics’ meeting Friday that he’s warned before there’s too much TV.

But he has realized that’s too narrow a view, Landgraf said, and it’s “narrative exhaustion” as described by filmmaker Paul Schrader that’s the problem.

Landgraf said the increasing number of scripted shows on streaming and cable makes it harder to surprise the audience with something that’s truly novel.

The FX executive said his expectation that growth in TV content would have slowed was wrong and the peak has yet to be reached.