Was just watching old comedies from that era which don’t exist anymore. Old School, Office Space and the premise was that people had normal lives which were exceptionally boring, they went to work in drab offices, this also brings to mind the Matrix/ Fight Club
Then obviously something amazing happens that introduces the story.
In modern shows, people don’t have the luxury of boredom. Mr Robot is constantly on edge, the internet, mobile phones means people are constantly entertained. Severance tries to bring back an ambiguous period but their work is weird and interesting.
Yea, I’ve noticed this too I think. You could probably expand the scope and ask how much modern media is about questioning the status quo. There seems to have been a moment around the late 90s that was openly criticising the life that modernity had created.
That trope is still around, here is a recent example
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Matter_(2024_TV_series)
In the first episode the hero is motivated to leave his boring life behind
