If you think that TV shows are dumbing down their scripts, you are probably right. And it just might be your phone addiction to blame!

Executives are pushing writers to develop simpler, less complex scripts to keep distracted viewers engaged, according to N+1 magazine. Multiple screenwriters report that company executives are sending back scripts with requests to narrate the action, such as announcing when characters enter the room.

Netflix knows we are on our phones all the time, with as many as 94% of people tinkering on their devices while watching TV. Dumbed-down scripts that lack nuance and visual cues can help viewers with divided attention follow along, making them less likely to turn the program off.

One example of black-and-white dialogue is the 2024 Lindsay Lohan Netflix flick Irish Wish. At one point, Lohan tells her love interest, James: "We spent a day together. I admit it was a beautiful day filled with dramatic vistas and romantic rain, but that doesn’t give you the right to question my life choices. Tomorrow, I’m marrying Paul Kennedy.”

Here, Lohan describes the visuals ("dramatic vistas and romantic rain"), which an engaged viewer would remember but a distracted one wouldn't have seen. She then reiterates her intention to marry, a key plot point. James responds in kind with a retort fit for a telegram: "Fine. That will be the last you see of me because after this job is over, I’m off to Bolivia to photograph an endangered tree lizard.”

In fairness, we wouldn't necessarily expect hard-hitting narratives from a rom-com. But the N+1 report lines up with a similar account from actress and producer Justine Batemen of Family Ties. "I’ve heard from showrunners who are given notes from the streamers that 'this isn’t second screen enough,'" she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “Meaning the viewer’s primary screen is their phone and the laptop, and they don’t want anything on your show to distract them from their primary screen because if they get distracted, they might look up, be confused, and go turn it off.”

Though Netflix could still produce Oscar-nominated titles like The Irishman (2020) and Don't Look Up (2021), it now seems focused on perfecting the art of background TV. Bateman used the term "visual muzak," or the equivalent of elevator music for TV.

And it's all because we are distracted by our phones!