TV fans can be aggressive. I get that. As a true fan of the medium since the late ’60s, I understand it better than most.
If you jog over to TV Fanatic every time someone disparages your favorite show because you want to jump into the discussion, you’re my people.
If you jog over to TV Fanatic every time someone dares criticize your favorite show because you want to slam the site or our writers? You’re not.
And not only are you not my people — you’re not a true TV fan.
TV Fanatic has been fan-forward since I took over in 2014 (and now that I own the joint, that’s not changing).
You may have noticed we don’t cover much of what we don’t enjoy. That’s not because we’re afraid to be critical — it’s because we’re fans first. We don’t want to spend our free time watching shows that don’t speak to us. Would you?
This isn’t a high-paying gig. There’s no celebrity schmoozing or network favoritism. We don’t write for Hollywood’s approval — we write because we love television and have something to say. We speak for viewers, not shareholders. And sometimes, that means being loud and disappointed.
Because when TV lets us down — when characters are tossed out to save a buck, when shows are canceled in the name of synergy and sports — we’re going to say something.
Loudly.
We’ve gone from the glory days of Peak TV to scraping the barrel of what’s left. And while streaming exploded with promise, it also changed the game — and not always for the better.
The binge model isn’t built for deep conversation. It’s built for forgettable consumption. Watch. Scroll. Forget.
But not all is lost. Some platforms still understand the value of slow-burn storytelling. The kind that gives viewers time to live with characters and savor the emotional highs and lows. The Handmaid’s Tale. The Pitt. That’s the TV we believe in — and that’s the TV we fight for.
So when NBC guts its lineup for basketball and makes questionable casting decisions, we’re going to talk about it. When promising new characters are shown the door while networks claim to be cutting costs, only to bring in replacements? We’re going to call it out.
Because this isn’t just a show to us, it’s a community, a relationship, a history. We watch these characters grow. We invest our time and hearts. We deserve more than press release spin and financial sleight of hand.
We’re not industry insiders. We don’t pretend to be. But we are experts in the emotional contract between fans and the shows they love. And we’re not going to sit quietly while that bond gets trampled.
Why should we be quiet about it? How else will anyone know that we care?
And before anyone hits us with “the ratings say this” or “the ratings prove that,” let me stop you right there.
I’ve never trusted ratings as the voice of the people. I’ve known folks who worked at Nielsen — including my own sister — and I’ve seen firsthand how those households are chosen. Spoiler alert: they’re not picking from die-hard viewers. They’re pulling from people who often don’t care about TV at all.
Why would you shape the creative direction of an entire industry based on input from people who aren’t even invested in it? What if, instead, shows were made for those of us who actually watch, feel, and talk about them?
The system isn’t broken because fans stopped caring. It’s broken because the industry stopped listening to them.
One of my favorite sites back in the early days of online TV conversation was Television Without Pity.
Their specialty was snarky recaps, and without them, coverage like ours might not even exist. It’s been my plan to lean more in that direction — not to be cruel, but to be unfiltered. To say plainly and with heart how we feel.
The cancellation of Blue Bloods was the first stop on that ride. It’s hard to stay mad at CBS, honestly — they’re still the last broadcast network truly committed to scripted TV. At least they recognize what that show meant and have greenlit a follow-up.
NBC, though? They’re taking the brunt of our ire, and they earned it.
They canceled all but two nights of scripted content to make way for sports, and they’re gutting the shows that remain. They parted ways with beloved cast members on Chicago Fire and Chicago PD, chalking it up to cost-cutting — then added new cast anyway.
On Chicago PD, a character who clicked right away with the team and the audience was sent packing after one season. Why? We don’t know. But we do know it was a mistake. And yes, we’re going to keep talking about it.
It’s what we do.
We criticize the shows and networks we love because we love them. We don’t have insider access, and we don’t need it. We’re not beholden to the people writing checks — we’re here for the people watching screens. The ones who still believe this medium matters.
We know our passion isn’t unique. There are more of us out there. If networks stopped writing for the theoretical viewers they wish they had and started writing for the ones already showing up? Things could shift. Shows could last. The conversation could thrive again.
We’re not going to sit quietly while that bond between fans and storytelling gets trampled.
And to the readers who call us biased, rude, or bitter — buckle up. We’re just getting started. We’re not softening our stance or pulling our punches to protect feelings or play nice with corporations. If anything, we’re leaning in harder.
Because if fans don’t speak up, who will?
There’s still hope for long-form storytelling — the kind that moves you, challenges you, and makes you feel seen. But networks have to meet us halfway. If they don’t, they’ll lose the very audience that kept them alive this long.
So if you’re with us, welcome to the resistance. And if you’re not? There are plenty of soft takes and press-release rewrites out there.
We’ll be over here — speaking for the fans who still give a damn.
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