After Peak Geek, What Comes Next?

The most popular TV show in the world is about a fantasy medieval world with dragons and ice zombies. The most dominant film franchise (by far) is based on comic books. The cast of the Big Bang Theory are the highest paid ensemble in sitcom history.

The geeks have won, as they say. Cultural markers that were once the

(stereotyped) domain of all-male, pimpled basements are now the standard bearers for what stands as mainstream entertainment. The culture wars have ended gloriously for the once belittled and ostracized.

But in real and fantasy worlds, wars’ ends only lead to new wars’ beginnings. Which leads to the question: what comes next? If Geekdom reigns supreme over a pop-culture battlefield littered with bodies of rom-coms and standard action flicks, is there another subculture amassing an army to challenge the current king?

Before we examine the contenders, let’s quickly recap how geek culture came to dominate: While it may seem like comic fans and fantasy lovers grew in size, in actuality it was that everything else got smaller. TV audiences fragmented as consumers found niche offerings they were slightly more interested in than sitcoms and police procedurals. Geekdom, with the most loyal and dedicated audience, held pat and the booming digital ecosystem only fueled that loyalty by connecting the disparate factions of geekdom. This is the cultural equivalent of shielded warriors becoming impenetrable when joining their shields and moving in unison.

With that covered, let’s consider what the next “big” subculture could be. (Disclaimer: Since we stereotyped “geeks” for all those years, we naturally need to be just as judgmental of the pretenders to the geeks’ throne.)

Lincoln Centerites: The tuxed-up, gown-wearing crowd that can sit through an opera or ballet unironically without falling asleep and then speak authentically about it.

Strength: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ They are VERY attractive to both direct-to-consumer and ad-driven media companies.

Weakness: Not exactly known for their inclusivity; if you thought it was annoying to hear “well, I read the books before the show even came out,” you won’t love the looks you’ll get when you wear jeans to Carnegie Hall.

Path to Power: A Hamilton-like operatic juggernaut that crosses over to the mainstream.

Sports Obscurants: The hipster-adjacent fans of athletic competitions that jocks never embraced, ranging from European “football” to axe throwing to curling.

Strength: Live programming is about the only thing not shrinking in audience size.

Weakness: Would need to emerge from a very crowded field. This would be like Albania being the big winner of World War 2.

Path to Power: The NFL (or one of the other big three) completely crumbles due to scandal, leaving a void waiting to be filled.

The Soul-Barry’s-Rumble Axis: The booming crowd of people who breezily pay $20 to $50 per session for fitness classes that double as entertainment.

Strength: Like the Lincoln Centerites, they’ve got cash, but their noses are leaned too far over handlebars to be turned up.

Weakness: They are a collection of sub-cults that are too adherent to their tribe to ever coalesce and grab power.

Path to Power: Peloton gets bought by ESPN, which hands over hours of programming time to them.

Literazzi: The well-read crowd that preferred real books to comic books and still buy movie tickets at the walk-up window (mostly at indie films).

Strength: Experience occupying the apex of pop culture (albeit generations ago)

Weakness: Will we really let another group of nerds dominate?

Path to Power: A string of big-budget, well-received adaptations of 19th and 20th century classics. (Seth Rogen as Leopold Bloom)

Wrestlemaniacs: They’ve been looming for decades, the cross-generational fanatics of Raw and Smackdown and Wrestlemania.

Strength: A berth on network primetime for the first time in decades with the WWE’s new FOX deal.

Weakness: Too unified around a single property (WWE)

Path to Power: A return of their most famous alumni coincides with a new generation of up-and-coming stars (driving massive viewership in Fox)

The Bravonauts: Housewife-loving, Stassi-reading, purveyors of the finest ludicrous domestic squabbles and mild sex scandals of BravoTV.

Strength: The ability to communicate in memified-code makes them the stealthiest subculture.

Weakness: Too susceptible to the whims of middle-age alcoholic women.

Path to Power: Andy Cohen gets a gig running a big Hollywood studio.

What other burgeoning subcultures can you see challenging Geekdom for pop culture supremacy?