Pasadena, CA: When John Landgraf, Chairman, FX Content and FX Productions addressed the Television Critics Association on Friday, it was easy to see why press tour sessions with him remain favorites of journalists in the organization. Whether he is online or in person, Landgraf never fails to provide useful facts, figures, insights and analysis that are crucial to knowledgable reporting. At a time when many network and streaming executives fail to show up at TCA tours, or stop by only to make brief introductions, Landgraf still delivers. His time with us Friday was no exception.
At the start of his session, Landgraf reminded us that FX takes a relatively unique approach to assessing the impact of programming and scheduling -- one that allows for the importance of the press. "For about 15 years, FX has compiled a count of all domestic U.S. critics' inclusions for best TV shows of the year," he began. "We track 'best overall program' lists, not lists like 'best new shows' or 'best shows in a single genre,' like sci-fi or horror or something like that, or lists of classic shows that are no longer in their first run. We then tally up all shows included in any list from a known critic or publication. Then we take an even more elite accounting of all shows ranked in the Top 10 programs of the year. Finally, we tally up all shows named the No. 1 best program of the year. We then allocate these inclusions by media company, brand or streaming service and the ten most acclaimed individual programs overall. Disney had the most total inclusions on all lists, more than 500; and the most Top 10s, a little over 250, followed by Warner Bros. Discovery at No. 2. That is a flip of the script from last year when Warner Bros. Discovery was No. 1 and Disney was No. 2. Disney way more than doubled the next closest companies: Apple TV and Netflix, which landed in the No. 3 and No. 4 positions.
"Disney absolutely dominated this year in number ones," he continued. "With 34, almost four times as many inclusions as Warner Bros. Discovery and more than double the second-place competitor, which was AMC. I remember when Disney first acquired Fox, (CEO) Bob Iger talked about his belief in the importance of powerful brands as engines of excellence that would fuel television, as they had done for Disney in film. As far as quality was concerned, last year his thesis was absolutely correct.
"Broken down by brand, HBO led the pack and FX came in second," he added. "Yet FX more than doubled HBO's tally of number ones. Of the top 10 brands in television, Disney had four: Hulu, Disney+, ABC and FX. Several years ago, I predicted that very few brands were going to successfully make the transition to streaming, and it looks like that's coming true."
Further, Landgraf continued, "Of the 10 most acclaimed individual shows of the year on these year-end best lists, Disney had an amazing five of the top 10 most acclaimed shows in America -- [including] The Bear, Andor, Abbott Elementary, Reservation Dogs and Atlanta -- while HBO had three, and Apple TV+ and AMC each had one. As I said, it was an excellent year qualitatively."
The hits just kept coming for FX Networks, with new shows like The Bear (FXX's most-watched single season of a comedy ever), The Old Man (FX's most-watched single season of any program in its history) and Welcome To Wrexham (the most-watched unscripted show in FX history).
Landgraf noted that the linear series' FX is releasing in 2023 include the final seasons of Snowfalland Mayans M.C., season three of Dave, season 16 of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, season five of What We Do In the Shadows, season four of Breeders, season two of The Old Man, season 14 of the animated hit Archer, season 12 of American Horror Story and season two of Welcome to Wrexham.
New series on FX will include Dear Mama, a five-part unfiltered look at the lives of Tupac and (mother) Afeni Shakur, as told by those closest to them; the limited series Justified: City Primeval, and a fifth installment of Fargo.
FX on Hulu will see a second season of The Bearand third seasons of American Horror Stories and Reservation Dogs along with new limited series Great Expectations, Class of '09, The Full Monty, Retreat, Sterling Affairs and the epic undertaking of Shogun, based on the James Clavell novel. "We've never made a show [like Shogun] on this scale before," Landgraf noted. "I'm incredibly grateful for the support Disney and DGE have given to FX to increase our investment in original programming.
"That's 23 shows for 2023," he concluded, still staying with the numbers, "not including our recurring documentaries under The New York Times Presents banner."
Also coming to FX's branded platforms in the future (with pending airdates) are a second installment of American Crime Story, the premiere of American Sports Story (focusing on New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez) and a television adaptation of the existing IP Alien, which is actively in pre-production.
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