RISE & FALL: Are you rising or falling?

The Rise and Fall of Peak TV (2015–2025)

FX Chairman John Landgraf coined the term "Peak TV" in 2015 to describe the unsustainable explosion of original scripted television series. For over a decade, his annual "Lan-graph" update became the industry’s official tally for the volume of production in the United States, serving as the primary engine for the worldwide scripted market.

According to FX Research and subsequent industry data from firms like Ampere Analysis and Luminate, the era of Peak TV reached its high-water mark in 2022 before undergoing a significant market correction.

Yearly Production Tally

Year	Total Scripted Series	Industry Milestone
2015	409	Landgraf coins the term 'Peak TV'
2016	455	Continued growth
2017	487	Streaming begins to dominate
2018	495	Approaching 500-series milestone
2019	532	Surpasses 500 for the first time
2020	493	The 'COVID Dip' (Production halts)
2021	559	Post-pandemic recovery boom
2022	599	The All-Time Peak ('High-Water Mark')
2023	516	14% Drop (Dual Hollywood Strikes)
2024	433	Market correction/Profitability focus
2025	410	Projected 'New Reality' / Stabilization

Visualization: The Peak TV Trend

Figure 1: Visual representation of scripted series volume over the last decade.

Key Analysis and Trends

• The 2022 Zenith: Landgraf correctly predicted that 599 would be the 'high-water mark.' The industry reached a saturation point where the influx of new streaming competitors finally plateaued.

• The 2023 Correction: The 14% drop in 2023 was the largest single-year decline in history (excluding the 2020 pandemic dip). While strikes played a role, the shift from 'subscriber growth at any cost' to 'profitability' was the primary driver.

• The New Baseline: By early 2026, industry data suggests a stabilization around the 400-series mark. This reflects a leaner, more intentional production strategy by major platforms like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon.