This month a controlling stake of the CW network was sold to Nexstar Media Group. This followed announcements earlier in the year that many of the network’s superhero and youth-oriented shows were being canceled. The sale provoked plenty of dismay from fans worried about the future of their favorite shows. But as a working television writer for the last 20 years, I was alarmed for a completely different reason.
The death of the old CW is merely the latest sign of a television industry pivoting from the world of scripted shows on broadcast networks. The streaming system eliminates the jobs of many currently working writers and erodes the ability to train and mentor the next generation of staffers, leaving many unprepared to run their own shows. By trying to save a few dollars, the industry is, in effect, eating its own seed corn.
Here’s how the employment math works. A broadcast show with a full season order of 18 to 23 episodes typically has a staff of eight to 12 working writers, from staff writer up to executive producer. Additionally, a show’s assistants and script coordinators often get assigned a freelance script or story, which serves as a sort of audition for a future staff writer job.
