I think my viewers want smart, honest programming. They don't want to be told what makes them feel good.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think you can make perfectly good television just from people who are genuinely interested, talking to people who genuinely know - simple as it sounds, it can be riveting.
Television viewers, they've been around a long time. They've been watching this thing now for 50 years. I mean, they know exactly what's happening when it comes to television programming. You can't put anything over on them anymore.
You want good ratings, you want people to like the show, you want to be appreciated for the hard work you put in. You don't always get it. Every show is not beloved.
When we make the show, we are always talking about how the show is really in between what we make and what the viewer thinks of it.
I feel audiences are not given enough credit for their intelligence.
Trying to guess what the (mass) audience wants and then trying to satisfy that is usually a bad recipe for getting something good.
Viewers can't expect TV to keep developing unless they make their wants known. And let's face it. The best way to make your wants known in this world is by 'beefing'.
What TV is extremely good at - and realize that this is 'all it does' - is discerning what large numbers of people think they want, and supplying it.
I believe what makes great television is wanting to watch particular characters.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think viewers are hungry for shows in which people say something meaningful.