Are more movie stars acting in TV shows nowadays (and if so, why)?

Question

I recently saw the TV show Fargo, and the presence of Martin Freeman and Billy Bob Thornton (both legitimately successful movie actors) made me wonder: Is doing the switch from movies to TV more acceptable these days? It's my impression that it used to be the case that successful TV stars went on to act in movies, but is this no longer true, or is my impression even correct? What with Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom, Peter Dinklage in GoT, or Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire it seems like there isn't a shortage of successful actors in television, and I just wondered whether it was just me, and if not what the reason is.

Answer 1

For a long time, it was the case that television was considered a lesser artistic endeavor than movies, from an acting perspective. However, now that there are many fewer successful films per year, Hollywood is taking fewer risks. At the same time, the streaming services have allowed television budgets to grow massively, and their ambition and quality with them. The division between film and television has never been weaker, as they are mostly being streamed indiscriminately now, and given that there are many more (and much steadier—several seasons vs. a few months of shooting) television jobs, actors are coming in droves to the small screen.