"Let's be real: It's just TV; it's just entertainment"
About this Quote
The subtext is double-edged. On one side, it punctures prestige culture: the obsession with canonizing shows, treating finales like referendums, and policing taste as if it were character. McBride’s phrasing refuses the liturgy of "content" that demands constant reverence. On the other side, "just entertainment" quietly defends the working reality of TV: it’s a job. A collaborative machine. A place where meaning happens, sure, but also a place where actors clock in, hit their marks, and go home.
Context matters because TV has spent the last 25 years begging not to be called TV. The era of "it’s basically cinema" made seriousness a marketing strategy. McBride’s line reads like pushback against that anxiety: entertainment isn’t an insult; it’s the point. Still, the irony is that he has to say it at all, because we know TV isn’t only "just" anything. The phrase works by pretending to lower the stakes while acknowledging how high we’ve made them.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
McBride, Chi. (2026, January 15). Let's be real: It's just TV; it's just entertainment. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/lets-be-real-its-just-tv-its-just-entertainment-169316/
Chicago Style
McBride, Chi. "Let's be real: It's just TV; it's just entertainment." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/lets-be-real-its-just-tv-its-just-entertainment-169316/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Let's be real: It's just TV; it's just entertainment." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/lets-be-real-its-just-tv-its-just-entertainment-169316/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.





