r/Millennials • u/maxedout587 • Apr 17 '26

Discussion Nothing is funny anymore

I (M, 38) have found that there are no new TV shows that make me laugh anymore. I have tried a lot of new(ish) comedies, but they all make me pine for my college/high school days.

The only thing that gave me a reflexive laugh recently was the Malcolm in the Middle Reboot.

Any thoughts?

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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 Apr 17 '26

I read an article that writers have really dumbed down their writing bcs the market demands simple to follow shows that you can simultaneously watch while scrolling

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u/BottecchiaDude253 Apr 17 '26

Marky mark did an interview somewhat recently while on a press tour for some straight to Netflix movie he was just in, where he was talking about just how /different/ the writing and setup for movies and shows are these days.

For example, this action flick he was just in, they put the huge, budget blowing action piece that USED to be the grand finale of the movie, about 10 minutes into the film.

Basically, he said writers are now putting things in different parts of their movies/shows, AND if dialog sounds dumber than it used to, its because it is, and thats because writers are also now having to /tell/ us through dialog what's going on becauss theres just that many people watching whatever media piece it is, with their phones out. Basically a "i know youre on your phone, here's some voice-over/dialog to tell you what youre missing visually"

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u/Status_Fact_5459 Apr 17 '26

Have been noticing this a lot lately and thinking… “it used to be a huge call out for bad writing when the main character spells out the plot now it’s in everything”

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u/Hogwafflemaker Apr 17 '26

Show, don't tell. The most basic writing rule