This is the first time over 500 shows have aired in the U.S., and a seven per cent increase over 2018. (The New York Times)

Talking point: The surge is largely driven by the growing number of streaming platforms—Netflix, for example, spent about US$15 billion on original content in 2019. There are many signs the number of shows will only increase this year. As Apple TV Plus launched in November 2019 and Disney Plus entered the market shortly after, they were only active for a small part of the year. Traditional providers are also increasing their content—HBO planned a 50 per cent increase in content in 2019, compared with the previous year. The glut of content is raising concerns with some in the industry. The Farewell director Lulu Wang opted for a smaller studio over concerns her film would get lost amid everything else on all the streaming platforms. Martin Scorsese put it more succinctly, stating there are “too many things” on streaming platforms. One of the concerns is the reliance on recommendation algorithms that often prioritize big-budget content over more niche work, a problem for the latter category, particularly if it’s an outlier for the streaming platform.