‘Longmire’ season 5: Lou Diamond Phillips on show’s broad appeal

We’ve spoken rather extensively over the past two months about “Longmire,” whether it be the superb quality of the show’s fourth season (in our opinion the best so far) to the recent renewal handed down by Netflix. In a previous edition of our CarterMatt TV Podcast, we also discussed a particularly rude comment from a reporter mocking what he perceived to be the average age of the show’s viewers.

Is it true that the show may have a large contingent of viewers outside the 18-49 demographic? Sure, but the idea that this demographic is imperative to the series’ survival is ludicrous. The pickup by Netflix for season 4 proves that, just as does the fact that it is coming back for another season next year. The beauty of a model like Netflix’s is that they make their decisions by streams and subscribers, and not so much the age, the race, or the gender of those watching. It’s more in line with an HBO or a Showtime in that sense. As a 29-year old writer who loves “Longmire” and hates the established model of networks supposedly living and dying by the demo, we respect that.

The reality is that “Longmire” has broad appeal beyond what certain reporterss may perceive to be its core audience, and we love that Lou Diamond Phillips touched on this in a lengthy interview with SpoilerTV, one that he also touches on his part in “Blindspot” and also the upcoming movie “The 33”:

“I will simply say that it is inaccurate to assume that we appeal to only one demographic; and that our fans are incredibly loyal. They’re incredibly vocal. And this is the reason that we were not only picked up by Netflix, but that we have a Season 5. So any statement to the contrary is not only irresponsible, it’s inaccurate.”

It ultimately does not matter who is watching “Longmire” so much as the fact that viewers are watching it, supporting it, and are interested in having more of it. Netflix acknowledges that, and we feel like over time so will more of the broadcast media as demos become less and less important. (For example, how many people aged 18-25 really have that much money to spend on things that are in advertisements? We’ve never understood them being such a coveted prize to begin with.)

If you want to get some other news when it comes to “Longmire,” head over to the link here! Also, sign up here to get some more updates on everything we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Netflix.)