From Pluribus to The Chair Company , there are some really great self-contained, fiercely original TV shows airing right now with no connections to any franchise or shared universe. These days, it’s becoming increasingly rare that studios let a story just exist on its own, without tying back to some beloved I.P. or making it a spinoff of some description.

Even a workplace comedy like The Paper has to be set in the same universe as The Office to get greenlit in Hollywood today. Not every franchise-associated TV show is a let-down — Andor , The Penguin , and X-Men ’97 are three of the best shows to come along in recent memory — but I.P. connections can be a detriment to narrative.

Peacemaker was too busy setting up future DC projects to resolve its own story in a satisfyin

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