Streaming services a boon for viewers but Aussie drama is under pressure

​There's no doubt that this era of peak TV has been a bonanza for viewers. People who've subscribed to the SVOD (streaming video on demand) services that are competing for attention can happily hop from one drama series to the next: there's always something interesting on offer.

Over the past year, that's meant going from, say, Ozark, Mindhunter, Stranger Things and The Crown on Netflix, to Better Call Saul, Transparent and Billions on Stan, to I Love Dick and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime.

Meanwhile, SBS On Demand has been establishing itself as the free SVOD alternative, offering an array of imported goodies, from Midnight Sun, Fargo, The Handmaid's Tale, Trapped and Occupied to The Bureau and Spin.

But the common denominator and sadly inescapable truth here is that none of these series, in fact none of the memorable drama series of 2017, is home-grown. While the arrival of streaming services has been a goldmine for viewers, it's also placed drama production in the already struggling Australian industry under increased pressure.

Even before the SVOD services launched, local producers, working in a relatively small market on the global stage, had to do more with less. Dramas here are made faster and cheaper than their equivalents in comparable countries. These series need overseas sales and now appear on international platforms alongside productions judged to have thematic similarities. So they have to look as though they belong there, not like poor relations who've somehow stumbled into the space.

A survey of the programs being touted for 2018 only increases the level of concern about the local scene. Reality TV rules on the commercial channels as free-to-air networks continue their reliance on light entertainment. At the "upfronts" late in 2017, where networks presented their programs for the coming year, it was striking – and, frankly, depressing – to see how few of the big-ticket items were dramas.

When Channel Ten did its launch – whose subtext was a relieved cheer of "We're still here!" – not a single one of the chosen highlights was a drama. Admittedly, at that point, the network was still in administration, with the CBS takeover yet to be confirmed. But still, it was a sad spectacle for drama devotees: the returns of I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here!, MasterChef, The Bachelor and Australian Survivor. Replacements for Offspring, The Wrong Girl or Sisters? Nope.

When Australian dramas do appear, they're shorter than they used to be: series that once ran for eight, 10 or 12 episodes are now shoe-horned into six. On SBS, it's four. Or maybe they're boiled down to telemovies. Nine is currently spruiking Underbelly Files: Chopper, which is two telemovies, rather than the multi-part series of the past. Seven's revival of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, which has been thrown into doubt after allegations about the behaviour of the show's star, consisted of four telemovies.