Are TV serials barometer of societal paradigms?

What precedes what - TV content or socially popular/ acceptable norms? Its a classical debate just like "Do films affect society or society gets reflected in films?" If saas-bahu serials are famous and have lot of viewership, does it make the content "in-vogue". Logically, YES.

There will always be people who will have a niche liking for specific content. And there will be a choice of masses. Many a times, the short-tenured fashion (fad) lives like a tornado - momentarily powerful and just that. The bitchy programs are perhaps like that. It was attempted earlier too - in 2001, Neena Gupta presented "Kamzor Kadi Kaun", a game show with participants eliminating by group vote the one they all feared was most likely to succeed, thus increasing individual's chance in next round..... and the program was a flop, signifying perhaps that India was not ready for such a show then. But it seems to have changed now, with Raodies, Big Boss, Get Gorgeous, Splitsville and many other shows capturing/staging the acrimony between participants/ mentors to enhance their TRPs.

High viewership for such programs do reflect achange in Indian choices, even if they may be limited to a specific section of population (read youth). There will always be alternate programming available for arty/ serious/ moral/ traditional/ cultural viewers and its possible that many choices of their are not "mass choices". But so be it.