In the summer of 2023, a 30-second clip of a TV show shot in 2004 went viral on TikTok. The audio, a deadpan sarcastic remark from a minor character, became the soundtrack for over two million videos about workplace frustration. Simultaneously, a podcast hosted by two former child actors topped the Spotify charts dissecting the very episode that clip came from. That weekend, the show’s parent studio announced a reboot.
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— As a descriptive term, it’s accurate for the age of streaming and social media. As a prescriptive lens for evaluating culture, it’s reductive. The best use of the phrase is to remind us what we’ve gained (access, variety) and lost (distinction, craft). In the summer of 2023, a 30-second clip