Forget quality TV—NBC is launching a SICKENING NEW FRONTIER by exploiting real-life TRAGEDY and GRIEF for profit. The network is cynically converting the memoirs of a medical examiner and the story of a traumatic brain injury into grisly primetime “entertainment,” signaling a DEEP MORAL ROT at the heart of network television.
The pilot “What the Dead Know” is a particularly egregious example, mining the intimate, traumatic memoir of former NYC medical examiner Barbara Butcher for cheap thrills. Under the ghoulish guidance of Dick Wolf, Ava Ledger’s profound connection with the dead is reduced to a quip: “Death Investigator Ava Ledger is really good with dead bodies. It’s the living that give her trouble.” This is how we treat human suffering now—as a PUNCHLINE packaged for mass consumption.
Meanwhile, “Puzzled” takes the exploitative premise even further. It glorifies a devastating traumatic brain injury as a “unique ability” to solve crimes, suggesting that NEUROLOGICAL DAMAGE is a secret superpower. This isn’t just bad taste; it’s a DANGEROUS narrative that trivializes the lifelong struggles of real victims. Joey Falco and team are turning personal catastrophe into a freak-show gimmick.
Combined with the week’s other announcements—a dark assassin drama and a reboot of a 50-year-old detective show—NBC’s strategy is clear: ABANDON ANY PRETENSE OF ARTISTIC INTEGRITY and BET ON BLOOD. The living are no longer interesting; only death, trauma, and psychological ruin are considered worthy of our screens. This isn’t a creative renaissance—it’s a carnival of human misery, and you’re buying the ticket.
As the line between reality and entertainment completely evaporates, one must ask: when our stories are sourced exclusively from the morgue and the therapist’s couch, what does that say about US? The networks are no longer just reflecting our darkness; they are ACTIVELY PROFITING FROM IT, and the audience is complicit in every single click.
Author: Kayitsi.com
