2 STORYBYCHUCKBARNEY

Just how much TV is too much?

In2016, so manynew showswere introduced that FX bossJohn Landgraf predicted the number of original scripted programson broadcast, cableand streaming networkswould approach a gasp-inducing 500sometimenext year.

Pity our poor DVRs.

Of course, quantitydoesn’talwaysmean quality,but the deluge boasted enough must-seegems to ensure the extension of another trend: television’sdominance over film in terms ofcreative oomph and cultural ubiquity.

Novisual narrative provoked as much watercooler passion as “Game of Thrones.”Fewwere as edgy and enthralling as“Mr.Robot.”And rarely have fictional characters forged a stronger bond with their audience than the departing denizens of“Downton Abbey.”

Also, isn’tit ironic that aminiseries about a 20-year-oldmurder case — “ThePeople v.O.J.

Simpson: American Crime Story” —not only generatedbig buzz but felt more relevantthan ever as it delved into issues of race, gender, class, fame and the justice system’sposture toward black Americans?

Asfor our raucous election year, no movie could tap into the absurdity of politics like “Veep,”or provide the of-the-moment satirical bite of “Saturday Night Live,” Samantha Bee and John Oliver. Youcould evenmake the case that, if it wasn’tfor television, former “Apprentice”host Donald Trump wouldn’tbe moving into the White House.

Onthelittle screen

The estimated number of scriptedoriginal programs,by year,on broadcast,cable and streaming services:

2009..........................................210

2010...........................................216

2011...........................................266

2012 ..........................................288

2013 ..........................................349

2014..........................................389

2015...........................................419

2016..........430-450 (projected)

FIGURESACCUMULATED BYFX NETWORKSRESEARCH DEPARTMENT.

THE TOTALSDO NOTINCLUDE FOREIGNLANGUAGEAND CHILDREN’S SHOWS.

Chasing Emmy

Alook at the showshonored by the Television Academy at the 68th EmmyAwards:

Outstanding drama: “Game of Thrones” HBO)

Outstanding comedy: “Veep” (HBO)

Outstanding miniseries: “The People v.O.J.Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX)

Outstanding TV movie: “Sherlock: TheAbominable Bride” (PBS)

Outstanding variety sketch series: “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

Theexplosion ofshows and programming pipelines has spawned more competition and creative growth. Italso has thrown open the doors to more artists. While the movieindustry was again plagued by an #OscarsSoWhite controversy, TV’sEmmybash celebrateda diverse mix of shows, stars and creators.

Hurrayfor (smallscreen) Hollywood.

CBARNEY@BAYAREANEWSGROUP.COM.

Triumph Andheartbreak

STORYBYMARTHAROSS

ILLUSTRATIONBY SERGESEIDLITZ knew hercase againstBrock Turner wasn’ta slam dunk, evenwith forensic evidence and witnesses. Then, in April, ajury found the former Stanford swim team member guilty of sexually assaulting her. Suddenly,the 23-year-old woman, who chooses to remain anonymous, had everyreason to hope justice would be served.

“After the trial, I was relieved thinking the hardest part was over, and all that was left was the sentencing,” she wrote in a recent essayforGlamour, which named her a 2016 Woman of the Year. We allrememberwhat happened next: Turner received a six-month jail sentence — for which he served only three months. After so much pain — and after coming so close—Doe felt the legal system slap her down.

Many women would findinDoe’scase parallels this year in which they celebrated monumental gains yet faced heartbreaking setbacks.

At the Summer Olympics, U.S. women won more medals than U.S. men but saw their accomplishments overshadowed, with headlines that focused on Michael Phelps’ latest victory rather than Stanford swimmerSimone Manuel’s historic gold medal. A groundbreaking reportconfirmedthat women in Hollywood face inequities in pay and job opportunities, but those inequities still persist across many industries. And whiletheU.S. Supreme Court handed down a decisive victory on reproductive rights by overturning a Texas law in June that closed dozens of abortion clinics,those rights remain under attack in other states that have proposed or enacted lawsto limit access to abortions and funding for family planning.

Most symbolic of all, many women looked forward to seeing Hillary Clinton elected the firstfemale president. Even more, theywanted America to reject what they felt her opponent stood for. As acandidate who made headlines with his “nasty woman” rhetoric, his recorded boast about sexually assaulting women and growing allegations from multiple womenthat he was sexually inappropriate with them, he embodied the notion of entitled patriarchy.

Clinton’s loss in an election in which more than half of the country’s white female voters failed to embrace her history-making candidacy was a gut-punch to millions of other women.

Still, with each setback, women rallied, often morefired up and determined than before. On Facebook, agrassroots group of Clinton supporters who’d joyfully supported her as Pantsuit Nation turned activist and organized a Women’s March on Washington for Jan. 21, the day after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As for Emily Doe, her searing victim impactstatement went online and became an international call toaction, spurring new conversations around sexual assault and institutional misogyny. Her words changed the way many think about the term “rape culture.”

And to other young women, Doe offered these words: “I hope you keep going. I hope you end up like me proud of who I’m becoming. ... And I hope you grow up knowingthat the world will no longer stand for this.”

Clockwise from top left: A scene from Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ video; Hillary Clinton during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia; The cast and crew of "Orangeis the New Black" accept the award for outstanding ensemble in a comedy series at the 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Timeline

Feb.1: Hillary Clinton wins the IowaDemocratic caucus,the firststep to securing the Democratic nomination.

Feb.8: Samantha Bee brings a blistering feminist perspectiveto theboysclub of late-nightcomedy with the premiere of herweekly TBSshow,“FullFrontal.”

Feb.22: The ComprehensiveAnnenberg Report on Diversity confirmsthe truth of gender inequity in Hollywood,finding that women in TV andmovies makeup only 15 percent of directors,28 percentof writers and less thanaquarter of TV series creators.

March 8: Anepisode ofthe acclaimed miniseries “The People v.O.J.Simpson” rehabilitates the reputation of prosecutor Marcia Clark (playedby Sarah Paulson),presenting her as an impassioned,hardworking divorcedmom tarnished by sexism during the 1995 trial.

March 10: Sujit Choudhry,the dean of theUC Berkeley lawschool,resigns after acampus investigation substantiated sexual harassment allegations against him by his executive assistant,TyannSorrell.Hewas oneof several male faculty members tofacemisconductcharges at the prestigious university over thepast fewyears.Most recently,the campus barred from teaching Nezar AlSayyad,a respected Middle Eastern studies scholar and architecture professor,following an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed a student.

April 20: Treasury Secretary JacobJ.Lewproposes replacing slave-holding Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman,the former slaveand abolitionist,and adding images of other women tothe$5 and $10 notes.

April 23: Beyoncédrops herstunning visual album “Lemonade,”and debate erupts notjust over the identity of “Becky with the good hair” but the extentto which her work marksalandmark in artistry,blackwomanhood and feminism.

May 6: InaMother’s Day Facebook post,Chief Operating OfficerSheryl Sandberg admits part of her “lean in” advice was wrong,saying she’slearned as anewly widowed mother howhard it is for a woman tobe on her ownraising kids.

May 10: Gloria Steinem,82,heads tothe usually male-orientedViceTV, where she debuts an eight-partseries,“Woman,” which explores human rights violations and violence against women around the world.

June 27: In the most significantdecision on reproductive rights in twodecades, the U.S.Supreme Courtstrikes downarestrictiveTexaslaw thatwould have drastically reduced the number of abortion clinicsinthestate.

July 21: Roger Ailes resigns as chairman and CEO of FoxNews,following an internal investigation intoallegations that he sexually harassed a numberof female employees,including Megyn Kellyand Gretchen Carlson,whose lawsuit spurredthe investigation.

July 28: Hillary Clinton accepts the nomination from the DemocraticParty, becoming the firstfemale presidential nominee of a major party in U.S.history.

July 29: The Miss Universe Organization announces that Miss Teen USA willno longer require contestants toparade around in swimsuits.

Aug.4: President Barack Obama pens an essayfor Glamour,reflecting on American women’s long fightfor equality and calling on mento fightsexism and createequal relationships.

Aug.16: Variety breaks the newsthatawoman whoaccused “Birth of a Nation” directorand star NateParker of rapein1999committedsuicide.That news,coming as Parker tries tohead offbad press about the college rape case, effectively dooms the film’s chances at the box officeandas a leading Oscar contender.

Aug.21: At the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro,American women took home 61 medals,compared with the Americanmen’s 55.Big winners include gymnast SimoneBiles; sprinter Allyson Felix; and Stanford’sSimone Manuel,the first African-American woman towin an individual swimming medal.

Sept.5: Housewife turned conservative firebrand Phyllis Schlaflydies at age 92.Her death brought reflection onthe time from the 1970sand 1980s when she became a polarizing figure thanksto herfervent opposition tothe Equal Rights Amendment.

Sept.13: California Gov.Jerry Brown,buckinganational movement for fiscal reasons,vetoes a bill that would haveended the state’sso-called“tampon tax.”

Sept.16: Brown signs legislation that expands thelegal definitionof rape and imposes newmandatory minimum sentences on offenders convictedof assaulting an unconscious or intoxicated victim.

Oct.7: Within hoursof the Washington Post publishing a2005 recording of Donald Trump boasting about sexually assaulting women,more than 1 million women flood social media with their stories of their first sexual assault under the #notokayhashtag.

Clockwise from top left: Megyn Kelly speaks at the Women In The World Summit; Gold medalist Simone Manuel; Kiana Schmitt speaks about victims’ rights at the UC Berkeley campus; awoman holds a sign supporting Harriet Tubman for the $20 bill during a town hall meeting at the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, N.Y.

Oct.13: Perhaps topping her acclaimed Democratic National Convention speech,firstlady MichelleObama indicts Trump’s alleged sexuallyaggressive behavior towardwomen in another speech,saying “The belief you cando anythingto a woman? It is cruel.It’s frightening.And the truthis,it hurts.It hurts.”

Oct.19: AfterTrump asserts during the thirdpresidential debatethatnoone loves women morethan he,he calls Clinton a “nastywoman.”The hashtag #nastywoman and a newT-shirt fashiontrend are born.

Oct.22: NFL ratings are reportedto be down 11 percent this season.One reason cited is concern that the league shrugs offplayers’ off-fieldtreatment of women,most recently when it handed down a one-game suspension against Giantskicker Josh Brown,who hadbeeninvestigated by the league for repeatedly abusing his now estranged wife.

Nov.9: Afterlosing the presidential election,Clinton tells her female supporters: “Now,Iknow wehavestill not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but some daysomeone will and hopefully sooner than wemightthink right now.”

Nov.12: Asthe election season grew to a close,KateMcKinnon,in the Clinton guise she madefamous in “Saturday Night Live” sketches,opens the showthat paystributeto the candidateby belting out a somber but upliftingrendition of the lateLeonardCohen’s “Hallelujah.”She then turnsto the audience tosay, “I’m not giving up,and neither should you.”