--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The enemy of good television is boredom…" description: "\"The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability.\" — David Nevins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg" --- # The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability. ![“The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability.” quote by David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg) > “The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability.” [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that predictable, boring TV erodes quality, urging innovation. **In simple terms:** Predictability kills good TV. Key Takeaway Seek novelty. Themes media innovation entertainment Mood critical forwardlooking Type media creative industry When to use this quote - television programming - content strategy - creative development Key Concepts creativity audience engagement risk Questions to Reflect On - What balances novelty with audience expectations? - How can creators avoid stagnation? A Different Perspective Risky experiments may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Boredom Predictability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom-predictability-4841759/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Good Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-television-632271/) [Predictability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predictability/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Television Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television-boredom-4841758/) ## Related quotes > [“... an artist should paint from the heart, and not always what people expect. Predictability often leads to the dullest work, in my opinion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-artist-should-paint-from-the-heart-and-not-always-what-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have been offered films as well, but it's better to do good television shows rather than a small role in a film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaheer-sheikh/i-have-been-offered-films-as-well-but-it-s-better-to-do-good/) [Shaheer Sheikh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaheer-sheikh/) > [The good television of today is probably better than the best television of the old days. The bad television of today is worse. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-humphrys/the-good-television-of-today-is-probably-better-than-the-best/) [John Humphrys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-humphrys/) > [Almost the first thing I did when I became ill was to buy a truly good television set.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-brodkey/almost-the-first-thing-i-did-when-i-became-ill-was-to-buy-a-truly/) [Harold Brodkey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-brodkey/) > [There's nothing good on the television; let's burn a witch. It must have been terribly exciting to live in those times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleese/there-s-nothing-good-on-the-television-let-s-burn-a-witch-it-must/) [John Cleese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleese/) > [I'm incredibly proud of 'Hannibal' and the cast - I feel like we're doing really good television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/i-m-incredibly-proud-of-hannibal-and-the-cast-i-feel-like-we-re-doing/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [There is a lot of good television out there, stuff that is better for you than 'Stranger Things,' that, critically, people would be like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/there-is-a-lot-of-good-television-out-there-stuff-that-is-better-for/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [Let me complain-it's good for television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hellmuth/let-me-complain-it-s-good-for-television/) [Phil Hellmuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hellmuth/) > [There's a good television programme called 'Disco 2.' It's quite good but again it's average, average. It's all on a down play. You know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-s-a-good-television-programme-called-disco-2-it-s-quite-good/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I had never thought of doing television. But my agent wanted me to meet John Wells, who had had a lot of success producing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/i-had-never-thought-of-doing-television-but-my-agent-wanted-me-to/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [And I believe that good journalism, good television, can make our world a better place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christiane-amanpour/and-i-believe-that-good-journalism-good-television-can-make-our-world/) [Christiane Amanpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christiane-amanpour/) > [I kind of love that British style: two seasons of tight, compact, good television. The more episodes you have, the thinner the episodes get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sullivan/i-kind-of-love-that-british-style-two-seasons-of-tight-compact-good/) [Chris Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sullivan/) > [I just think it's fun to remind people that good television has exited and it can exist again and just to give them pleasure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-elfman/i-just-think-it-s-fun-to-remind-people-that-good-television-has/) [Jenna Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-elfman/) > [Conflict, when used as a device, makes for good television and bad journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/conflict-when-used-as-a-device-makes-for-good-television-and-bad/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I think what good television does well is that it shows characters evolving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-o-malley/i-think-what-good-television-does-well-is-that-it-shows-characters/) [Mike O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-o-malley/) ## More by David Nevins > [In all my shows, I'm not interested in the iconic shots of the Capitol and the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/in-all-my-shows-i-m-not-interested-in-the-iconic-shots-of-the-capitol/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [One of the fundamental issues with The Vatican is that the world changed on us. That show was conceived and written while Pope Benedict…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/one-of-the-fundamental-issues-with-the-vatican-is-that-the-world/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I like shows that are surprising and not predictable. That have deep, rich characters that are fully formed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-like-shows-that-are-surprising-and-not-predictable-that-have-deep/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I sold 'Time Life' books on the telephone. It's probably the only pure skill job I've ever had. When you're on and you're good,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-sold-time-life-books-on-the-telephone-it-s-probably-the-only-pure/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I'm always interested in trying to stay on the cutting edge of television storytelling. To be slightly in front, pushing for the next new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-m-always-interested-in-trying-to-stay-on-the-cutting-edge-of/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I love being a producer, and I think I essentially still operate as a producer even though I now have control of marketing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-love-being-a-producer-and-i-think-i-essentially-still-operate-as-a/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I actually have very girly taste in television. I like a chicky relationship show probably more than anything. I really like 'Project Runway'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-actually-have-very-girly-taste-in-television-i-like-a-chicky/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [So much of television is incredibly predictable. You watch the first five minutes and you know where it's going to go. If you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/so-much-of-television-is-incredibly-predictable-you-watch-the-first/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I like stories with a collision of disparate tones. Look at 'Shameless' or 'House of Lies'. They go from big, silly, and comedic to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-like-stories-with-a-collision-of-disparate-tones-look-at-shameless/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [When it comes to storytelling, not taking risks is riskier than swinging for the fences. I have very simple ambitions when it comes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/when-it-comes-to-storytelling-not-taking-risks-is-riskier-than/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) > [I have very simple ambitions. If I can just not be boring, I'm ahead of the game. It's hard in television. I think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/i-have-very-simple-ambitions-if-i-can-just-not-be-boring-i-m-ahead-of/) [David Nevins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) [Explore all 12 David Nevins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Nevins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom-and-predictability/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Boredom" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom-and-predictability/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/941/david-nevins-37132_boredom_the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom_3013162.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The enemy of good television is boredom and predictability.” — David Nevins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Nevins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nevins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The enemy of good television is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom-and-predictability/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nevins/the-enemy-of-good-television-is-boredom-and-predictability/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```