Basic-cable gems survive in a dwindling field

The TV universe is littered with endangered species.
Variety shows? Daytime soap operas? Saturday-morning cartoons? All have become scarce.
But now there’s a broader category to worry about – scripted shows on basic-cable networks. Those have ranged from “Monk,” “Mad Men” and “Mr. Robot” to “Breaking Bad” and “Battlestar Galactica.” But lately, they’ve been wounded by streamers and cord-cutters.
“The basic-cable business is really struggling to compete,” John Landgraf, the FX chief, told the Television Critics Association earlier this year. “I think FX and AMC are kind of holding the fort.”
Still, summer is when cable channels have their best shot. TBS’ cleverly offbeat “Miracle Workers” (shown here) debuts at 10 p.m. Monday, July 10 … putting it against “Cruel Summer,” the surprisingly well-crafted teen drama on Freeform.
There are other strong basic-cable shows this summer, especially on FX, but it’s a dwindling field.
We’re not talking about premium channels (HBO, Showtime, Starz) or streaming networks, which remain impressive. We’re talking about the basic channels that most cable-viewers get.
They were prime forces in the rise of TV’s “platinum age.” Consider AMC (“Mad Men,” “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “The Walking Dead”), TNT (“The Closer,” “Leverage,” “Falling Skies”), Freeform (“Good Trouble,” “The Fosters,” “Grown-ish”), USA (“Monk,” “Psych,” “Burn Notice,” “Mr. Robot”), Syfy (“Battlestar Galactica, “Stargate,” “Eureka,” the brilliant “Resident Alien”) and FX (“Fargo,” “Sons of Anarchy,” “The Shield,” “The Americans,” “Pose,” “Better Things”).
These shows and their channels thrived. Then the streamers grabbed attention and viewers. In a six-year stretch, the number of U.S. cable homes fell from 97 million to 76 million; basic-cable channels lost more than one-fifth of their prospective viewers.
Several channels discarded their scripted shows. The Pop network dropped all of them, just as the final season of its “Schitt’s Creek” was sweeping the Emmys. The new owners of TBS and TNT canceled “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” delayed “Miracle Workers” for six months and avoided most other shows. The Paramount Network scored big with “Yellowstone,” but sent related shows to Paramount+.
Others survive via a two-tier system – airing shows on basic-cable and also on a streamer owned by a parent company. Still, that’s not an equal field: FX shows go to Hulu, with 48 million subscribers – twice as many as Peacock (including Syfy and USA shows), four times as many as AMC+.
AMC, Landgraf said, has been a key supplier “of quality scripted programming for a long time.” But now it’s struggling with a “basic-cable plus small-streamer model. I feel incredibly fortunate that Disney bought FX (in an overall deal with Fox) and incorporated us into their much larger enterprise.”
Meanwhile, this is a good time to catch some of the surviving scripted shows. Summer has always been key for basic cable; a current sampling includes:
— Sundays: Colliding at 9 p.m. are AMC’s “The Walking Dead: Dead City” and TNT’s “The Lazarus Project,” a compelling British import that involves turning back time to avoid global destruction. Both end July 23; a week later, AMC has the skillfully crafted “Dark Winds” season-opener.
— Mondays: TBS’ “Miracle Workers” collides at 10 p.m. with Freeform’s “Cruel Summer.” The latter concludes July 31 – the same day as the season-opener of the FX comedy, “Breeders.”
— Tuesdays: A clever “Justified” miniseries starts at 10 p.m. July 18 on FX.
— Wednesdays: Three shows collide at 10 p.,m.: Freeform has “Grown-ish,” the amiable “Black-ish” spin-off. FXX has the goofy “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” And FX has the intense “Mayans, M.C.,” with its series-finale July 19.
— Thursdays: “What We Do in the Shadows,” the offbeat (and oft-hilarious) vampire comedy, has its season-opener at 10 p.m. July 13 on FX.
— Fridays: The animated “Praise Petey” debuts at 10 p.m. July 21 on Freeform.