TV legend Norman Lear calls today's programming a golden age

TV legend Norman Lear calls today's programming a golden age·CNBC

Television producer Norman Lear said even though there the world is oversaturated with media, television is in its golden age.

In an interview with CNBC's "Binge," he listed "Night Manager," "Blacki-ish," "Transparent," "South Park" and "The Carmichael Show" as shows that contribute to the current era of quality. The 94-year-old Lear helped create favorites such as "The Jeffersons," "All in the Family," "Good Times" and "One Day at a Time."

A remake of "One Day at a Time" will be released on Netflix (NFLX) in 2017. Lear said he hopes that audiences won't watch it on their phones.

"They'll be able to binge 13 right away," Lear said. "I can't believe that some people will sit and watch it in a long evening."

He said that the biggest difference between working with Netflix and producing older shows was the viewer's access.

"We do 13 [shows] before the nation sees anything," Lear said.

Lear also said his shows captured "the humor in life" more than his competitors' did.

"I prefer we way handled things over the way he handled things. And I even think that now," Lear said, comparing his show "The Jeffersons" with "The Cosby Show."

Lear recently finished a documentary entitled "Norman: Just Another Version of Me," which focuses on his life, shows and activism. He said he also wrote a pilot for a show about older people in a retirement village.

"I wish to do a show about the elderly," Lear said.

He disagreed with the theory that older demographics shouldn't be targeted for shows.

"The other thing I hear often is that older people are set in their ways — they're not going to go into a new direction," Lear said. "That too is bull----."

Coming Sept. 6 on "Binge," Carl Quintanilla talks with Morgan Freeman and his producing partner, Lori McCreary, about how Trump vs. Clinton has changed Hollywood.

Devour the full season of "Binge" with Carl Quintanilla here.

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