You may have used the term “Quality TV” to describe your favorite TV show, and you would mean by that that the series is good and has good quality. But what are the standards for a quality TV series and what are the elements that give it this quality?
Quality TV Series
Quality TV series is a type or genre of TV shows that have higher production and artistic standards. The term started to be used in the 1990s with the rise of shows like Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990), OZ (HBO, 1997), and The Sopranos (HBO, 1999). Mainly when we talk about quality we are looking at the theme, style, production value, and target audience. Quality TV series have serious themes that reflect the concerns of the contemporary society. The story is usually presented in a unique visual style with high production value and visual aesthetics. Such TV series are targeted to a more educated audience that are familiar with cinematic story-telling and have some interpretation and analytical skills.
Themes in Quality TV Series
First we should discuss the main theme in the series to consider its quality. Here we are looking at the story and the message of the series, in other words the script. Quality TV series often deal with serious and sophisticated social and psychological issues. For example, addiction to power in Breaking Bad, women rights and oppression due to religion in The Handmaid’s Tale, The effect of technology on our life in Black Mirror… What I described as a “serious theme” is not exclusive to drama genre. Dark comedies can also be considered quality TV. For example, Shameless deals with many serious social issues using light and dark comedy. Finally, the main theme of a quality TV show usually comments on the society and revolve around big subjects that concern the modern audience.
Style in Quality TV Shows
Style is the most important element when it comes to quality TV series. In order have a better quality, a TV series should be different from other TV shows in the way that it represents the story. When I talk about style I am talking about how the story in the series is represented visually.
Quality TV have a unique style in its visual representation. Unique visual style can be achieved through colours, digital effects, and framing.
Second, The quality in style comes from using new and innovative framing that we are not used to see in other TV shows. In some cases, these shots tell the audience information about the characters and the story. For example look at this frame from The Handmaid’s Tale:
In this frame the character is at the edge of the frame. The character is visually marginalised in the frame, the same way that she is being marginalised in the series. This specific use of framing makes the quality of the show even higher. Those who like to interpret and analyse movies would like to watch shows that allow deeper analysis of the cinematography.
Production Value in Quality TV Series
High production value is the most obvious element when it comes to labelling the quality of a TV show. To consider the production value high, the show must be:
– Shot in nice locations that seem real
– There are celebrity actors
– Good CGI and video effects
– Authentic costumes, and makeup
– Good music and sound tracks
…
In general, when the series presents all its scenes beautifully and does not shy away from demanding scenes and expensive shots such as war scenes, explosions, action sequences, traveling to new countries…
Here are some examples of high production value in TV shows:
Target Audience of Quality TV Series
The target audience are the people that the producers of the show want to be watching their show. Sitcoms for example, usually target families and younger audience. Quality TV series are usually targeted to adults who are educated and have at least a minimum knowledge about cinematic production and story-telling techniques. That is because those people would appreciate the good cinematography, and won’t accept easy/cheap solutions to go around demanding scenes. (Here high production value becomes a necessity). The group of people that watch quality shows need to have good interpretational and analytical skills because the themes of these shows are complicated and the story is often told without spoon feeding the details.
Conclusion
In this golden age of TV, almost all the TV series can have a good quality. This does not mean that all these shows are good. Quality has specific elements or a checklist that we can consider to evaluate the show. But a good show is relative to every person. For example, season 8 of Game of Thrones has undoubtably a great quality according to the elements that I mentioned in this post, but still many viewers did not consider it as a good season.
Even within quality TV shows, some might have a greater value than the others. It is not just the production value that determines the quality. Shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, Breaking Bad, The Leftovers, Peaky Blinders, The Young Pope, Maniac… are all TV series that have a great artistic value in addition to their production value. I like to think of such shows that perfect their quality as cinematic TV series. They are closer to being an artistic film than a conventional TV series.
