4 Reasons for TV shows to become Popular

In many countries, TV shows are more popular than some of the local sports. American television viewers patronize a wide number of TV series and most of them have captured the imagination of millions of global viewers too. Sopranos, Friends, 24, The Simpsons, X-files, Seinfeld, NYPD and Star Trek series are some good examples to quote here. They can be of any genre - animated, fantasy, thriller or mystery. But these shows are popular irrespective of the genre because of two main reasons.

Realism - Drama series portray life as it is - with issues surrounding family, career, etc. Friends show is a good combination of comedy and reality. It portrays how friends stick together in spite of their differences in age, career and lifestyle. Realism makes viewers take note of a show and come back to it for a second time. Viewers are able to empathize with each character and are curious how the characters deal with life's twists and turns. In fact, the most famous TV shows aren't the most expensively made ones. They are based on real life characters that face rejection and deprivation and yet look bravely into the future. In some cases, people want to be the ‘character' for the values they stand by.

Imagination - Fantasy shows like Star trek are based on stories that can never happen on the face of earth. Yet they are popular because of their sets, characters and story line.

Gripping Story line - Interesting characters and sub-plots help the shows to carry on for years together. Shows like General Hospital, The Young and the Restless and One Life to Live have been running across generations of viewers. This also proves that some stories are accepted even when things like lifestyle and attitude changes.

Marketing - TV shows are marketed very well. TV shows make use of every medium to popularize the story and characters. Most of them are available on the internet TV and viewed by millions. Whether it's been running for years or just newly released, they are on every channel. Events like reality shows, rallies and charity shows are used as a medium to popularize the stars. TV actors enjoy as much love and admiration from audiences; just like a ‘movie star'. Some of them have had smooth transition to movies and are a star in their own right.

So now, pick your favorite movie and cross check from the cues given here. It's sure to fall in one of the categories mentioned here.