Westworld. Game of Thrones. Stranger Things. The Walking Dead. The People vs O.J. Simpson. Luke Cage. While you might have enjoyed British dramas like Victoria or Poldark, the amount of television coming from across the pond feels unprecedented.

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New statistics confirm that 2016 saw more US television being made than ever before. Research for American cable channel FX revealed that this year saw a record 455 scripted original series shown across broadcast, cable, and streaming services like Netflix. That’s an 8 per cent increase in shows since last year.

Even more remarkable, the amount of scripted shows on TV have increased by 137 per cent since 2006.

FX CEO John Landgraf said earlier that the States might be on their way to “peak TV”, warning that we're getting to the point where there is simply too much TV for people to consume.

However, the graph below suggests that the TV industry shows no signs of slowing.

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However – and this is an important point – these numbers only takes into account scripted shows.

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We might not be at “peak TV” yet, we’re just watching a lot more US dramas and less British reality TV (we’re looking at you, Big Brother). And thinking about next year’s upcoming seasons of Game of Thrones and Stranger Things, this isn’t a bad thing at all.

Authors

Thomas LingStaff Writer, BBC Science Focus

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Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

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