and other projects now much more easily than ever before. In a lot of ways, it is a good time to be an actor (or writer or other TV creative). Around 600 scripted shows are produced a year now across all platforms (broadcast, cable, streaming). And that does not include the many unscripted shows. So there is a lot of opportunity.
The downside is that, with so many viewing options, most shows only get a tiny slice of the potential viewing audience. And many good shows don’t get seen by enough people and end up cancelled. IMO, that genie is as out of the bottle as much as globalization is. TV is never going back to the time when a handful of networks got the lion’s share of viewers. If TV execs accept that simple fact, maybe they will let more good shows go on long enough to find more viewers. All of this is a major part of why daytime soap viewership will never be what it used to be.
they have way more options. I mean look at NAC. It is def rare but Billy Miller had several primetime gigs too. The stigma that went along with being on a soap is thankfully dead. I think the networks are behind the last four. GH and DOOL are at 60 years. If they were to get cut by network, there is this strong possibility of being saved by a streaming service or going online.
I’m anticipating good things for NAC. A young actor could hardly do better than to be chosen to be included in Ryan Murphy’s stable of awesome actors. They are like an elite repertory theatre company. NAC will get a lot of exposure and, if he’s lucky, get to do other RM projects.
GH fans are pretty vocal and rabid at times. I think they would protest the hell out of Disney/ABC if/when it's ever announced that GH will be dropped.
The entertainment industry is in a period of big change and nobody knows exactly how things will shake out. ABC does seem to have accepted that the GH audience will never be what it used to be for many reasons. There are a lot of variables in play though. For one thing, there are the rumors that Disney is looking to sell ABC. As for a streamer taking on GH, there is a huge difference between shows that do 12 episodes a year and GH that does roughly 52x5 episodes a year. I hope GH is around for a long time to come but I don’t think young actors should count on it.
