10 reasons why today's TV is better than movies

Have you heard the news? The golden age of television is over. It's true. David Cox said so himself this week, in an article listing all the different ways that film is better than TV now.

Now, I love film. As far as I'm concerned, all film – good and bad – has some level of intrinsic worth. I like David Cox, too. I've met him and he seems like a perfectly decent man. But he's catastrophically wrong here. I write about both film and television but, if I had to pick sides, I'd go with television every single time. Television, especially the television that's being produced now, is wiping the floor with film. It's kicking film's arse. Here's why.

1. Longform storytelling

When applied correctly, the elongated storytelling opportunities afforded by television trump cinema's frayed reliance on the drudgery of 90-minute three-act plots. Breaking Bad showed a character transforming over two years of his life in a way that could never be achieved in film. The Killing dedicated 20 hours to a single murder case. And look at The Returned or Buffy the Vampire Slayer – they both began in cinemas as easily forgettable fluff, but couldn't blossom as world-beaters until they discovered the time and space that television offered them.

2. TV is (currently) less franchise-fixated

Hollywood is increasingly reliant on brand recognition, churning out endless sequels and spinoffs and reboots because it's easier than marketing an original idea. TV, meanwhile, is far more eager to take a punt on something new. Admittedly there are clouds on the horizon – we're already got an Avengers TV show, and soon we'll have spin-offs of Modern Family, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and possibly Dexter to sift through for signs of life – but for now, TV retains the upper hand.

3. TV still has the power to surprise

At its best, a TV show can be freeform, veering from comedy to thriller to horror and back again. Films, with their desperate need to be marketed properly, tend to simplify to sell. A show such as Breaking Bad didn't have those constraints. Even though one episode made you laugh, the next could have you hyperventilating with abject fear. Every moment of that show was a rollercoaster, and a uniquely televisual one at that.

4. Word of mouth

Again, look at Breaking Bad. That show started small and, thanks to new distribution methods as well as near-rabid word-of-mouth from evangelists who'd seen it and loved it, it ended up a juggernaut. What's the last film you can say that about? Paranormal Activity? That was years ago and, given the studio's determination to suck its bones dry with endless sequels, even that wasn't such a great idea.

5. Actors do their best work on TV

Because television is increasingly becoming a writer's medium, it is attracting the best acting talent. Actors who would have run from television a decade ago are now embracing it precisely because the quality is so high. Now the letdown comes when actors move from TV to film. Michael Chiklis followed his bruising performance in The Shield by playing a turd-shaped superhero. Idris Elba followed The Wire by making a ropey thriller with Beyoncé. Aaron Paul's first role after his towering turn as Jesse Pinkman is in a movie of a computer game about some cars. No wonder everyone from Al Pacino to Kevin Spacey is returning to the small screen.

6. The British excel at TV

The state of British TV is leagues ahead of British film. With a couple of notable exceptions – mainly in the form of soggy Richard Curtis romcoms – the latter is still stuck in the same old kitchen-sink/council-estate mould that it seems unable to escape. Meanwhile, Downton Abbey, Top Gear and Doctor Who are fast becoming truly global sensations, and then there all the formats that the UK has sold around the world. Remember, in Slovakia Come Dine With Me is called Without A Napkin.

7. British actors have ruled US TV for years

One of David's points was that Kate Winslet is often called upon to be an American in films. That's nothing – you barely watch any American TV show at all without seeing a homegrown actor elongating their vowels. Breaking Bad had Laura Fraser. Homeland has Damian Lewis (and David Harewood). The Wire had Idris Elba and Dominic West. House had Hugh Laurie. Sons of Anarchy has Charlie Hunnam. The Walking Dead has Andrew Lincoln and David Morrissey. This could be because they're brilliant actors, or it could be because they're cheaper than hiring real Americans. Either way, it still counts.

8. The bond with characters

The intimacy of television, combined with the amount of time that actors spend in specific roles, means that viewers can become far more invested in television characters than film characters. This is especially true in the case of soap operas, where characters become your extended family and announcers have to read out helpline numbers after heavy storylines.

9. The biggest film stars of tomorrow are on TV now

Bruce Willis started on TV. Alec Baldwin started on TV. Will Smith started on TV. Robin Williams and George Clooney and Eddie Murphy and Tom Hanks got their big breaks on TV. And this is how it'll always be – television's lower budgets and faster turnaround times make it a brilliant breeding ground for future movie stars. To watch TV is to watch bright young things get discovered by the world. People might see their films as the icing on the cake, but their TV breakthrough will always be the most exciting part of their careers.

10. TV made Netflix successful

Netflix is changing the way we consume media. But nobody subscribes for the films, unless they want to watch Jerry Maguire or The Craft for the billionth time. Instead, people use Netflix to devour TV shows in such droves that it's even started to commission its own. And, Hemlock Grove aside, they're all pretty brilliant. Netflix has become so important for TV that the makers of Breaking Bad have credited it for the show's success. In fact, if I'm being honest, another writer will beat both David and me hands down when they write: "10 reasons why Netflix trumps film and TV."