Let's be honest -- how many of us actually watch cable? We live in a $10/month generation that Netflix and Chills like none other, without infomercials or PSAs or carpet-cleaner ads. Having experienced the bleak options of cable, I'm usually happy to stick to Internet TV.
Naturally, I was quite surprised when I recently discovered a refreshing TV station. Viceland, a joint station between Vice Media and A&E, does everything I never expected cable TV to do.
Viceland just launched at the end of February, with 12 initial programs on the spectrum of "docuseries" and TV journalism. It may sound boring, but it's far from it. Viceland is driven by controversial, subjective content with the grit and relatability to appeal to millennials.
You don't have to look further than Viceland's programming list to understand its intended audience. The first five released shows ranged from "Gaycation" (an LGBT focused travel series with Ellen Page and Ian Daniel) to "Weediquette" (an exploration of cannabis and culture with a constantly baked host). These probably aren't the shows our parents bought cable for.
Nonetheless, Viceland's programming is purposeful and meaningful. Spike Jonze is the creative director of Viceland and he said he wants the channel to be more than "just a collection of shows." Viceland unites its programs through a collective effort to "[understand] the world we live in," according to Jonze.
One of my favorite Viceland shows is "States of Undress," a docuseries that looks at fashion around the world and its influence on culture and identity. When I think of fashion television, I think of "Project Runway" or "America's Next Top Model" -- shows invested in the drama and industry of fashion, rather than insights into the human condition.
But "States of Undress" does exactly what Viceland aims to do: it takes a distinct field and uses that perspective to come to some global understanding. In the process of exploring the influence of fashion in different regions, host Hailey Gates encounters issues of race, gender, the personal and the political all weaved into the fabric of fashion.
"Initially I thought fashion might prove limiting in terms of subject matter, but what I found is that we were able to explore all avenues that we were interested in just through this lens," said Gates in an interview with "Women's Wear Daily."
Whether it's through food in Eddie Huang's "Huang's World," music in "Noisey," or fashion in "States of Undress," distinct lenses are Viceland's channels for dynamic and textured explorations of life. The people-focused, story-driven nature of Viceland shows make it so that anyone -- yes, even our cable-carrying parents -- can find something worth watching in Viceland.
Viceland is a hopeful new direction for cable TV, and a testament to our generation's interest in the human condition. Far removed from the notion of evading life through television, Viceland is using television to help viewers understand life. Empathy is the mission, not escapism. And in a Trump-touting, televangelizing cable reality, we need as much empathy as we can get.
