I think we WERE in a golden age of TV during the 2000s both on Cable and TV but I think we're actually coming out of that, with networks trying to recapture that era (like how everyone was trying to replicate Lost or people wondering which HBO show could be compared to Wire and Sopranos)
Even with Netflix changing the game in terms of viewership, the actual programming itself is mixed (seems like HoC was seen as not being great by season 2, OITNB s getting love). Even foreign shows have their flaws (Sherlock, Misfits by the time they got past first series were not that great). People are starting to find cracks and flaws in HBO and Showtime shows that are normally hearlded (You feel a GoT backlash this year, Homeland hasnt been the same since the middle of season 2, and Boardwalk Empire while decent never seem to meet people's lofty expectations elsewhere, Walking Dead's last season kinda had people split on it)
So actually it feels like right everyone is on the bandwagon for tv (networks, writers, movie actors) but that inital creative jolt is now regressing to the mean of television, hence why even some of these shows are trying to come back from that era (Heroes, 24)
To compare TV to Hip Hop, it was like 1999-2011 was 1992-1996 in Hip Hop and right now we're kind of in the 97-2000 territory, where it aint wack, there's still some gems but not necessairly stuff that'll blow you over by before, and we might be trending towards going back to the generic stuff of the 80s and 90s (definetly on network TV like NBC, ABC trying to aim high with high concept fantasy or remake stuff)
I think that also has to do with the idea that in a on demand multi choice era we keep thinking everything is must see TV or we have to binge watch and catch up to certain shows so we can be in the In crowd to talk about and really not everything
