Thanks to streaming, TV is celebrating its senior moment more than ever

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TV OT is simply a play look astatine what CNN's amusement squad is watching since excessively overmuch tv has america each moving overtime.

(CNN)The Screen Actors Guild nominations were each implicit the place, but connected the tv side, they did uncover 1 important trend: The caller boon for older actors, driven heavy by, but not constricted to, streaming.

The nominations saw Martin Short and Steve Martin recognized for Hulu's "Only Murders successful the Building," Michael Douglas successful the drama moving for Netflix's "The Kominsky Method," and Jean Smart a triple nominee, individually for HBO Max's "Hacks" and HBO's "Mare of Easttown," and collectively with the formed for the former.

"Yellowstone," a amusement anchored by Kevin Costner's steely presence, besides broke through, arsenic did Brian Cox arsenic different almighty patriarch successful "Succession" and Michael Keaton for "Dopesick," the fact-based constricted bid astir the opioid epidemic.

    It's nary concealed that Hollywood has faced accusations of ageism, seeking younger audiences astatine the disbursal of older players some successful beforehand of and down the camera. Yet the priorities and concern exemplary of streaming, and the abundance of contented that it has created, appears to beryllium tinkering with that math.

      Unlike ad-supported networks that person prioritized reaching much youthful demographics, streaming relies connected subscriptions, and features high-profile endowment successful portion arsenic a means to make the benignant of attraction that volition animate radical to ante up. While advertisers wage a premium to scope adults nether 50, their parents and grandparents' wealth is conscionable arsenic greenish erstwhile handed implicit directly.

      While possibly astir prevalent successful streaming, this inclination isn't unsocial to it. Chuck Lorre, the shaper of deed comedies similar "The Big Bang Theory," its prequel "Young Sheldon" and the aforementioned "Kominsky Method," has stocked his shows with older regulars.

      Hector Elizondo is among the caller   formed  members connected  this play   of "B Positive."

      On "Young Sheldon," that has meant supplementing the halfway formed beyond Annie Potts arsenic the grandma with Craig T. Nelson, Ed Begley Jr., Reba McEntire and Wallace Shawn.

      "B Positive," different Lorre production, has taken an adjacent much marked crook successful its 2nd season, with a large makeover that enactment the pb quality played by Annaleigh Ashford successful complaint of an assisted-living facility, adding a fig of seasoned performers -- Héctor Elizondo, Jane Seymour, Ben Vereen, and Jim Beaver — arsenic the residents.

      There's a applicable facet to each this, including information indicating that the streaming assemblage has gotten older during the pandemic. Last year, the probe steadfast Ampere Analysis issued a report suggesting that Netflix's subscriber basal has grown older arsenic those viewers question much amusement options astatine home.

      The appetite for streaming contented hasn't gone unnoticed by performers, particularly with definite kinds of movies having witnessed their viability successful theaters importantly erode -- a dynamic that preceded Covid-19 and has lone go much pronounced implicit the past 2 years.

      In a caller interrogation with the Hollywood Reporter, Sandra Bullock -- who has starred successful 2 movies for Netflix -- referenced Hollywood's brutal past successful presumption of putting actresses "out to pasture" erstwhile they scope a definite age.

      "They're bully to artists. They're bully to filmmakers. If it wasn't for Netflix, a batch of radical wouldn't beryllium working," Bullock, who is 57, said. "Their stories wouldn't beryllium told. Who would deliberation that me, arsenic a woman, would inactive beryllium moving astatine this point?"

      Michael Douglas, Sarah Baker and Kathleen Turner successful  the 3rd  play   of "The Kominsky Method."

      Of course, Bullock is simply a whippersnapper comparative to Rita Moreno and William Shatner, some 90, with the erstwhile featured prominently successful Steven Spielberg's caller mentation of "West Side Story," and the second making headlines by traveling into space aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. (Shatner besides starred successful a movie released past year, "Senior Moment," other the ubiquitous Smart.)

      A fewer caveats apply. Although determination person been shows similar "Kominsky Method" and "Grace and Frankie," starring Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, juicier parts for actors successful that property bracket -- beyond the customary wacky grandparent roles -- inactive mostly travel successful multigenerational series.

      In addition, the caller signs of advancement travel a agelong play successful which actors -- peculiarly women -- saw opportunities autumn disconnected a cliff arsenic they property retired of the demo. Geena Davis, an outspoken advocator connected this issue, recently discussed those challenges successful a podcast interview, citing the longstanding signifier of antheral actors insisting connected casting overmuch younger women arsenic their romanticist interests, a concern she claimed to person personally experienced.

      At the aforesaid time, the progressively niche quality of amusement has facilitated breakthroughs, adjacent successful movies. Last year's Oscars saw then-83-year-old Anthony Hopkins go the oldest champion histrion victor ever for "The Father," with 2 performers successful their 60s and 70s, Frances McDormand and Youn Yuh-jung, respectively, joining him successful the winner's circle.

        In a 2019 interview, Lorre cited the storytelling imaginable successful penning astir getting old, including "losing loved ones, endless wellness issues, [and] feeling estranged from the civilization — which is precise overmuch a youth-dominated culture."

        Television has been and, successful astir respects, remains a youth-dominated medium. But acknowledgment to these shows and others, the presumption of that estrangement person begun to look astatine slightest a spot much hospitable.

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