In a 2013 article for Pajiba in the long ago days of 2013, Steve Lloyd Wilson said that Netflix could democratize television by becoming the “white knight” that rescues beloved TV series canned by the networks. But why not Apple instead?
Netflix got tons of publicity — and accolades — for its revival of the short-lived-but-critically-acclaimed comedy, Arrested Development. Folks were hoping that Netflix would revive other shows that died before their time. It hasn’t, though it has saved some shows canceled by the networks, such as Designated Survivor.
Here’s Wilson’s clever proposal (which you can read in its entirety here): “Netflix should form a little working group of accountants, lawyers, pollsters, and maybe even an entertainment expert or two. Then this group should make a list of every television show cancelled in the last decade, and do a very specific and detailed write up of it. How much would it cost to produce per episode? What are the salaries of creative people involved? In other words, do the legwork that produces an estimate of what it will take to make this happen.”