Posted in: ABC, TV | Tagged: The Rookie

The Rookie: "Comfort" Network TV Needed Now More Than Ever: Hawley

The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley made the case for why "comfort" network TV shows still matter and why they're popular with younger viewers.

Published Thu, 29 May 2025 14:08:07 -0500

by Ray Flook

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In a piece published by Variety earlier today, ABC's The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley makes an excellent argument about why network television shows matter now more than ever. At the end of his opening paragraph, he states, "Network television has become comfort food for the anxiety generation." In terms of what he meant by "anxiety generation," Hawley noted that it wasn't specific to any one group (like Gen Z or Millennials), and that it applied who grew up over the past 20 years. From there, Hawley listed the high-level street factors that they've faced in that relatively short period of time, including 2007's financial crash, the global pandemic lockdown, and two terms of Donald Trump's presidency. It's during those times that long-running shows with large episode counts tend to see viewership numbers explode, from The Office and Parks and Recreation to Suits, Criminal Minds, Law and Order: SVU, and others. Why?

"Because the comfort is in the familiarity of the world and the characters, not the tone. It's in the close-ended structure of episodic storytelling where a comedic problem or a criminal investigation is launched, and both can be solved by episode's end. And it's in the sheer number of episodes. That factor is key. You can disappear in a show that has 100-plus episodes, rewatching whole seasons or jumping around from favorites to favorites while doing homework, putting on makeup, or cooking dinner. You can't do that with streaming shows — at least not yet," Hawley shared.

Hawley's defense of network television and its approach to the medium, as compared to how streaming services approach television, is a fascinating read that we can't do justice to here without just recopying word-for-word. What could prove interesting down the road is seeing just how much the streaming services might be learning the lesson. For example, HBO Max is already in production on a second season of Noah Wyle-starring The Pitt for a January 2026 return. If streaming series could begin ticking up the episode counts, networks may have bigger competition than they expected. But for now, Hawley speaks for a lot of folks (us included) when he argues that streaming shows aren't at that point yet where they can offer the kind of emotional embrace and mental escape that shows like The Rookie can – and that's why younger viewers are seeking them out.

"Sure, they might be fancier, but kids and young adults who are trying to find some calm in a world of chaos or regulate a panic attack that threatens to derail their day, aren't looking for fancy. They're looking for the solace they get from watching Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson bicker, knowing that Detectives Benson and Stabler are on the case while Jim is forever pranking Dwight," Hawley wrote to end his piece. "The way this younger generation watches television is different than those that have come before, and yet the shows they are watching — like 'The Rookie' (120 episodes and counting) — are old school in the best way."

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