Dear Toni,

For several seasons, prime time has been filled with actor-less reality shows. In addition, over the past 10 years, I’ve seen TV acting roles written overwhelmingly for younger actors. This is not only a perception coming from my growing older, but also a real, objective phenomenon. There are not a lot of older roles on sitcoms, except for those rare few who already have stellar careers (e.g. Peter Boyle and James Garner). But the future isn’t all that bleak. While it’s true that the most desired audience (25-40) are those raising families with credit cards loaded with interest charges, soon older generation money will start to be spent as many post-WWII baby boomers enter retirement with their accumulated savings and pensions. Do you see any objective data that show a growing number of older acting roles aimed at the baby boomers, or is it still too early for their influence to be felt?

Jim Hudson