I’d like to think I’m a dedicated television watcher. I pay more than I probably should for the cable package with all the premium channels, so that I’m not deprived of any of the great shows being produced by HBO, Showtime or even Starz. I have a Roku in one room, a Chromecast in another, and an iPad on hand, allowing me to watch streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, along with sports packages like MLB.TV and NBA League Pass.
Honestly, it’s more than I can handle. It’s more than anyone with considerations such as job or family can handle. Who has the time to watch everything? Yet I want to provide myself with the opportunity to do so. Eventually, a window of time will open up that allows me to polish off a season or two of a show that my friends and favorite critics are talking about.
But will providing myself with the chance to watch all the good TV available mean that I’ll eventually have to buy a PlayStation as well? That could be the case, especially when it involves a show adapted from a comic book I’ve enjoyed reading.
As reported by Deadline, Sony Pictures TV will be producing a show based on the comic book Powers for the gaming console, expected to be a 10-episode season. Powers, created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, takes place in a world where superheroes are a prevalent part of the culture. The first story arc follows a pair of homicide detectives, Christian Walker and Deena Pilgrim, investigating the murder of a particularly well-known hero.
Superheroes are bigger than ever, as comic book adaptations continue to fill cinemas with summer blockbusters. And cop shows are a consistent hit on television, with HBO’s True Detective being just the latest example. So how could a cop show with superheroes not catch on with audiences? The only other premise that might do better is a medical drama that takes place in a world of superheroes. Superhero doctors! A show with superheroes and lawyers could also do well. (Actually, Netflix is presumably going to try that with its adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Daredevil.)
There’s no word yet on when the show will be available. No roles have yet been cast, though the writing staff and showrunners — including novelist Charlie Huston — are in place. Powers had previously been in development over the past couple of years at FX. A pilot had been produced, with Jason Patric cast as Walker, but the series never came together as FX hoped. Establishing a consistent tone between gritty crime drama and superhero fantasy was likely difficult. Creating visual effects to depict those superheroes on a TV budget was surely also problematic. So the project was eventually shelved.
Yet Sony obviously thought Powers showed enough promise to take elsewhere. Or, in this case, keep for itself since PlayStation is under the same corporate umbrella.
Putting aside any fanboy excitement about another comic book adaptation — though this one is for TV — the more important question concerns PlayStation getting into the TV business. This is a seemingly ambitious step for a video game console and network. Yet PlayStation has shown aspirations of moving beyond simply offering video games for its users with its newest consoles able to stream Netflix, download TV shows and movies, and play Blu-ray discs. These devices are now capable of being full entertainment systems.
As the Wall Street Journal reports, Sony envisions an online pay-TV service for PlayStation that would provide channels typically available through cable and satellite providers. This would be in addition to the network that would carry exclusive original shows such as Powers to the 30 million PlayStation consoles sold throughout the United States.
Presumably, those programs would be aimed at audiences who own PlayStation devices. Maybe your parents want to subscribe to Netflix to watch House of Cards, but are they going to buy a PlayStation to watch Powers? Probably not, but Sony and PlayStation aren’t likely concerned about that. (That’s not to say that some parents wouldn’t. There are plenty of cool ones out there. We’re not painting with a broad, judgmental brush here.) They want to give younger people with disposable income — perhaps even those who aren’t into video games — reason to buy a console.
And after enjoying that TV show, maybe there will be some interest from viewers in trying one of those games that emulate what they just watched. Or the corporate synergy could just be blatant, and Sony will offer a Powers video game to coincide with the show. It seems like a natural fit.
PlayStation’s entry into exclusive programming makes an ever-expanding TV universe even larger. (Neil deGrasse Tyson may have to cover this on a future episode of Cosmos.) We have more great TV shows than ever, thanks to basic cable channels now producing original series along with the traditional networks. Channels like AMC and FX no longer fill their schedules with older movies and syndicated reruns. They create some of the best shows currently on television, like Mad Men, Justified and The Walking Dead. Downton Abbey and Sherlock have changed the dowdy perception of PBS. Netflix is in the game now too, with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.
The difference here is that PlayStation is challenging potential new users to come to them. This isn’t just a matter of finding where AMC or FX is on your cable system. If I want to watch Powers, I’ll have to buy a PlayStation even though I have no interest in video games (purely out of self-preservation) and already have devices to stream Netflix and play Blu-rays. Create something good enough that people want and they’ll do what they must to watch it. That’s a decision I’ll have to grapple with in the months and years to come, though the hook may already be in.
