Original programming (also called originals or original programs, and subcategorized as "original series", "original movies", "original documentaries" and "original specials") is a term used for in-house television,

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

or web series productions to which the exclusive domestic and, if the originating service operates non-domestic versions of the service outside of their home country, international broadcast rights are held by traditional and over-the-top content providers. The term was coined by

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

in 1983 when the premium service began producing its slate of in-house series and film productions. HBO initially branded the original series on the network under "HBOriginal" until 1986, and by 1993, the "originals" term had expanded to encompass most of its original productions. The term eventually expanded into use by various cable-originated television networks (including, among others, Disney Channel, TNT and

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...

) to identify their in-house productions. It also advertises them as being distinct from the acquired content offered to fill out the remainder of their programming schedule. Most original made-for-cable or made-for-streaming productions are produced solely in conjunction with independent production companies that also hold day-to-day management responsibilities for the program, although some series (such as ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...

'', ''

Queer as Folk ''Queer as Folk'' may refer to: * ''Queer as Folk'' (British TV series), 1999–2000 * ''Queer as Folk'' (American TV series), a 2000–2005 American and Canadian version of the UK series ** ''Queer as Folk'' soundtracks, soundtrack albums from ...

'', '' The Leftovers'' and '' Power'') share financial interests with major television studios—such as

20th Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Com ...

, Warner Bros. Television and

Lionsgate Television Lionsgate Television is the television division of Lionsgate, which is a Canadian– American entertainment company. History The company was established in July 1997 as Lions Gate Television, Inc. with the establishment of Lionsgate Films. It ...

—that may also handle distribution responsibilities for domestic and international syndication on behalf of the originating network. Television networks and digital content providers that produce original programming include

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global ...

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one ...

, and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. In October 2020, CBS became the first U.S. broadcast network to identify all of its entertainment programming under the term, branding them as "CBS Originals"; however, the network uses the "original" term for both series produced by sister production company

CBS Studios CBS Studios, Inc. is an American television production company which is a subsidiary of CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. It was formed on January 17, 2006, by CBS Corporation as CBS Paramount Television, as a renaming of the o ...

and series produced by third-party production companies. ( ABC had previously marketed the 2016 miniseries ''

Madoff Bernard Lawrence Madoff ( ; April 29, 1938April 14, 2021) was an American fraudster and financier who was the admitted mastermind of the largest Ponzi scheme in history, worth about $64.8 billion. He was at one time chairman of the NASDAQ s ...

'' and the 2019 made-for-TV movie ''Same Time, Next Christmas'' as "ABC Originals".)

References

{{tv-stub Cable television Streaming television Original programming

See also

References