Explaining the rise of the Politico-Action genre in television

War has been inspiring entertainment content for over 50 years. It’s importance in setting the context for a variety of content (whether fully or partially) is undeniable.

The last decade has seen tremendous changes in the political landscape across the world — and mostly things have taken a turn for the worse. But for those in the business of creating ‘action’ content for film and television, things have never been better.

Storytellers across every format and medium have been quick to take advantage of this — with Television & OTT content being the most prolific. Some of my favorites are Cinemax’s Strike Back, Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan, and Netflix’s Fauda are just a few examples of this movement.

Now, I’m a fan of these shows, but note that while action is a large part of it, bear in mind that it’s only one part of the show. The other aspect is the political stance they endorse and even encourage. Strike Back, for example, encourages a point-of-view that supports covert military action ostensibly by the West.

It’s a genre that I term as Politico-Action.

This is a drastic shift in the treatment of War by popular media when you compare it to shows of the 70’s. Consider, for instance, the popular sitcom M*A*S*H. Hailed as one of the world’s most popular TV shows, it was American content that took a stand against America’s participation in the Korean War. In a sense, it encouraged viewers to not choose sides in a war, but to look at war with a humane lens.

With the state of world affairs being what they are — and its awareness being amplified by an eager media — War has, in this decade, become an ongoing contemporary subject. Whether it’s between countries, factional conflict within nations, or terrorism, War has become an inevitable part of our daily information diet. This is why it’s no longer possible for viewers to process it without bias.

And as War comes ever closer to home, the growing popularity of Politico-Action content is reflective of the viewer’s mindset today — and indeed our own.