Things That I Want to See Happen in 2025 (But Probably Won't)

 It's 2025.

Okay. 

Look, 2024 has worn me out mentally, as I'm sure it has a lot of folks geopolitically, but you won't hear me talk about that on this site, mostly because I value my sanity.

Instead, I talk about the media I enjoy, which has eroded my optimistic attitude bit by bit in the 25+ years I've been analyzing and covering it professionally. There has been a lot of progress made in that time, but over the past five years, there's been a major regression that has all but destroyed the landscape of the media industry as a whole. 

Cable is all but a thing of the past. It's just so damned homogenized with very limited variety as the cable networks are trying to find audiences in a world dominated by streaming platforms (many of which are owned by the same companies that own the cable channels putting those companies in a real Ouroboros predicament). Vulture capitalists are ripping apart legacies that have been around longer than the CEOs of those companies have been alive with a gleeful malice while taking sadistic pleasure in trying to destroy industries and livelihoods to save a few pennies. 

Still, there is room for innovation and growth within the entertainment industry if those in power want to pursue it. Unfortunately, they just want to see low-risk pablum, less creativity, and unchecked consolidation that limits creative voices and choices. 

Super. 

There are a lot of things I want to see happen in 2025, but it probably won't because, you know, the whole low-risk blatherskite I said earlier. Some things I can't say out loud because I don't need that smoke. But here are some things I can admit out loud:

  • FAST channels with more A-list/top-tier programming. The growth of the FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) has been a boon for viewers as more viewers are gravitating towards outlets like Tubi, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, XUMO, PLEX, and Freevee/Prime Video Channels. A variety of channels with a vast selection of movies and shows from a myriad of media companies are not only attracting viewers sick of paying out the wazoo for streamers to get limited programming but also advertisers who are simply going where the people are. WBD, Paramount, and Disney added more FAST channels to their repertoire in 2024 across many platforms, but they've largely put their B and C-list offerings on them. In 2025, I'd like to see them continue to expand their FAST offerings across the board. Such massive libraries need showcases to present them all, especially if they're not interested in keeping them on their premium streamers, so why NOT present them on self-contained FAST channels? And not just the lower-tiered stuff, bring out your A-game. Why not create Marvel or DC-themed FAST channels? Why not make channels that only air shows like Law & Order or Looney Tunes? Why couldn't Sony make a GET FAST channel with their older game shows like Pyramid, Joker's Wild, The Gong Show, Tic Tac Dough, or even pre-Sajak Wheel of Fortune? And why couldn't Paramount put more of their A-tier FAST channels outside of Pluto TV? I know why, but still, it would be nice to expand. And hey, putting top-tier shows and movies on FAST services could remind viewers to subscribe to premium streamers as well. 
  • More animated FAST channels. WBD seemingly doesn't know what to do with their massive library of shows and shorts on their own outlets since they're taking many of them off of MAX and shut down the Boomerang streamer. Universal has never really showcased the Lantz library, Filmation shows, or any of their non-Dreamworks TV titles anywhere online. Disney has locked up their library behind a Disney+ paywall and ignores the Saban/Fox Kids stuff altogether. Paramount only feels Nickelodeon is their only animated legacy. And yet, there are audiences who would want to see them and constantly being ignored. These stories could reach all audiences. Kids, families, young adults, old adults. Animation is universal, and everybody loves cartoons. Well, everybody who isn't a corporate vulture capitalist. Making more FAST channels dedicated to animated libraries (and actually having them curated) would be a boon if treated properly and with respect.
  • A clear definition of the future of the Cartoon Network brand in the United States.
  • A broad focus and stronger support of the Looney Tunes brand.
  • A Universal Science Fiction FAST channel. NBCU's FAST channels have been nothing short of amazing. With channels dedicated to '60s westerns and '70s & '80s action and crime shows, creating a channel showcasing the sci-fi shows of that era only seems natural. And yeah, I want it to be called Universal Sci-Fi, not to be confused with SYFY, which has strayed far, far away from sci-fi and not really important to NBCU these days (they're tentatively spinning that channel off by the end of the year), and FAST would be a perfect format for it.
  • The Crunchyroll stranglehold on the anime industry to just come apart at the seams. 
  • DC Comics' 90th anniversary to be something truly epic, celebratory, and memorable not just on the big screen but also the small screen (including announcements of new animated projects for all kinds of audiences) and the comics themselves. 
  • Adult Swim to fully get out of its cynically nihilistic phase and actually become more mature and not just catering to the older fans of the block (that is, the original 18-34 demo when it began in 2001, who are now 42-56).
  • Lazarus to be great. Look, 2024 was a mixed bag for Toonami. Ninja Kamui was nice but went off the rails. Uzumaki had a great first episode but... yeesh, the animation suffered due to circumstances beyond their control. Invincible Fight Girl was the best original Toonami had, and they had absolutely nothing to do with the production of the series. I want Lazarus to knock it out of the park for Toonami. Otherwise, it's going to be hard to trust them with original series concepts in the future that aren't based on preexisting properties. Speaking of preexisting properties though.
  • A Toonami original series based on a WB-owned property. Give us a DC series that Cartoon Network didn't just throw away. Hell, give us something like Warlord, Hitman, or Challengers of the Unknown or something from Vertigo, Milestone, or Wildstorm like 100 Bullets, The Invisibles, Blood Syndicate, or DV8. Or even WildC.A.T.S. done right. Give us a Mortal Kombat series. Hell, give us a Spy Hunter series. Give us a mature take on Silverhawks, Thundarr the Barberian, or Centurions. Make peace with the Wes Craven estate and give us a Freddy Krueger horror cartoon.  I know we'll probably get reruns of Get Jiro on Toonami, and that'll be as far as Toonami would go with WB-owned properties, and that's a shame. JUST relying on Japanese productions, especially when the market is mostly monopolized by one company, is very limited. I just want to see Toonami try something different.
  • Adult Swim and/or MAX picking up and renewing Star Trek: Lower Decks. The longest shot, but hey, stranger things have happened. And give it a linear run to boot.
Will any of these things ever happen? Probably not. 

But with a new year, it is wise to be a little hopeful, even for a moment. And a guy can dream, can't he?

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