Genre TV Is Taking Over and Falling Short

From superhero shows to sci-fi and fantasy, today's hit series are built on IP. But do creators really know how to handle it?

- ALAN SEPINWALL

IN THE SEASON FINALE of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, the show's fourth-wall-breaking title character, played by Tatiana Maslany, objects to where the story has gone. So she climbs through the Disney+ interface onto a Hollywood backlot to confront Marvel Cinematic Universe boss Kevin Feige. Instead, she finds a sentient computer called K.E.V.I.N., who explains, "I possess the most advanced entertainment algorithm in the world, and it produces near-perfect products." She-Hulk points out that her show is about to have the same kind of largely nonsensical action climax that every other MCU movie and TV show feels compelled to include. "I propose we don't have to do that," she argues.

I grew up reading She-Hulk comics that unfolded like this, including one in which she survived an annoying supervillain's trap by tearing the edge of the panel she was in and walking through two pages of advertisements. I was also reared on Star Wars, Star Trek, J.R.R. Tolkien, and many other varieties of sci-fi, fantasy, and/ or superheroic adventures. The small screen is now overflowing with these properties, based on iconic characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi or previously obscure ones like Moon Knight. This should have me feeling nothing but pure nerd-vana. But She-Hulk's harangue of K.E.V.I.N. rings frustratingly true, not just for MCU shows, but for the great majority of high-concept franchise TV in 2022. Whether they're relying too heavily on the appeal of brand names or following source material to the letter, today's creators are struggling, fundamentally, to make television shows that function as television shows. The result is a whole lot of genre TV that's more entertaining in theory than in practice.