Sure, but... Mad Men, Am I Right?

Among the best jobs that I can imagine, television critic is up there. One of the most respected critics out there, Alan Sepinwall, explains how his job has gone from casually watching the three or four major networks to a constant barrage of quality television. One telling portion talks about how many shows are now on cable (and not the five major networks):

In 2007, there were 42 original dramas and 17 comedies. By last year, that number had ballooned to 77 original dramas and 48 comedies. And in the first four months of 2013 alone, there have been 34 dramas and 19 comedies. And that's on top of everything that ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and the CW are doing. That pace will slow down somewhat as we shift into summer, but I'd still expect 2013 to top the 2012 numbers, and to keep rising. Netflix is making its own original shows now, and releasing all the episodes at once. Amazon has pilots in development. The amount of television expanding, but so is our definition of what counts as "television."
 

It's a good point- in the last few years, I've certainly gone from knowing at least something about any show people talk about, to sounding like my parents (What's the name of that show? Do we get that channel? How come I've never heard of it?)

You can read the whole thing here.