Netflix’s ‘The Boroughs’ Debuts With Cast Mostly in Their 70s as TV Expands Older Leads
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 20
Netflix’s ‘The Boroughs’ Debuts With Cast Mostly in Their 70s as TV Expands Older Leads
4 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 20
Thursday’s debut of Netflix’s “The Boroughs” adds Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Clarke Peters, Bill Pullman and Alfre Woodard to a growing slate of series built around older protagonists.
The shift stands out because older people remain underrepresented on television: a 2017 study found fewer than 10% of speaking roles on U.S. network TV went to characters over 60, though that group made up about 20% of the population.
Recent shows including “Hacks,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “A Man on the Inside,” “Slow Horses” and the “Matlock” reboot have increasingly given older characters central, more layered roles instead of comic-relief or advisory parts.
That marks a break from a long decline after 1980s exceptions such as “The Golden Girls,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Matlock,” suggesting TV may be entering a broader revival of stories centered on aging.
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