John Landgraf’s comments arrived like a thunderbolt.

There’s a malaise in TV these days that’s felt among executives, viewers and critics, said Mr. Landgraf, the chief executive of FX Networks. And it’s the result of one thing: There is simply too much on television.

The glut, he said at a Television Critics Association media event earlier this month, has made it hard to “cut through the clutter and create real buzz” and has presented “a huge challenge in finding compelling original stories and the level of talent needed to sustain those stories.”

On the face of it, the assertion seemed absurd. After all, critics and viewers alike have hailed this as another golden age of television, where shows as diverse and popular as “Game of Thrones” and “Empire” have become an indelible part of the culture, elevating TV from second-class status to a medium attracting top actors and film directors.

But Mr. Landgraf’s comments were not dismissed as absurd or hyperbolic. Instead, Mr. Landgraf ignited a serious conversation, and no small amount of self-reflection, about how much is too much, and whether something is seriously out of whack in TV land.