Can you afford to watch TV?

A new TV series, American Hostage, premiered a little over a month ago and is based on a real-life armed standoff at an Indiana mortgage office in 1977. The article highlights performances by Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi and argues the show speaks to frustrations of power and powerlessness. The piece, however, frames the viewing decision through price. American Hostage is available on MGM+, a streaming service descended from Epix, costing $7.99 per month—an additional subscription on top of other platforms consumers already have. The writer connects the issue to how pay TV and streaming have fragmented access, turning an once-more-universal medium into something increasingly difficult to afford.