Television’s ‘Senior Moment:’ Something to Celebrate, and Build On

Should we be celebrating what the New York Times calls television’s “senior moment?”

It’s hard to answer “no.” But I can’t give an unequivocal “yes,” either.

I enjoyed the piece by Times culture reporter Alexis Soloski that highlighted the changes in the ways older people are portrayed on TV. Her piece explains that from the 1990s until the 2020s, interesting older characters seemed to vanish from the screen.

Additionally, a 2017 study found “that when elderly characters — typically white, male and able-bodied — were included, they were often the targets of ageist language.”

Soloski’s piece documents how the quality of roles for older actors is changing recently. Shows like “The Boroughs,” “A Man on the Inside,” “Only Murders in the Building” and others are portraying older characters with “more sympathy and complication.”

That said, a 2024 study found that only 9 percent of speaking characters on TV were 65 or older.

So things are not as bad as they were, and older characters are more compelling now. But older Americans are still underrepresented on TV.

I think there are two other reasons to be pleased with the progress — while recognizing that work still needs to be done.

👉 Many of the aging actors who lead these newer shows are established stars who bring a following with them.

Actors like Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Michael Douglas and Steve Martin increase viewership. And it’s good to see that instead of being put out to pasture in their 60s (and beyond), they’re finding meaningful roles without having to pretend to be 35.

👉In these high-quality roles, older actors are “doing life” — portraying realistic people in authentic, age-appropriate situations instead of sitting in rocking chairs and making wisecracks.

The best thing about these roles may be that they don’t portray aging as something to fear or ignore, centered on deficit and decline.

When younger viewers see the richness and variety of the lives of these characters, they may begin to think “Yes, old age has its downsides, but it has some real upsides, too.”

They’ll see that there’s time for growth. There’s time for experimenting. There’s time for learning. There’s still time for doing the things that make living worthwhile.