I think the audience will consume whatever is given to them by the majority of the creators. Television in the early 90s used to have some really good stories. Not saying saas-bahu shows didn't exist back then but that wasn't really the norm like it is now. People took more risks with hard-hitting plots, layered characters and depth of thoughts, and the audience accepted those shows and loved them. Female characters weren't just props for the males to romance or to be victim to kitchen politics but they were living, breathing human characters that made people pause and think. Somewhere down the line, something went really wrong which is why even in 2021, we are trying to be happy with whatever crumbs we get in the name of empowered and nuanced characters. One or two shows with novel storylines may get pulled off air because the audience will still have the alternatives but if pretty much everyone is making these, the audience will eventually learn to get used to them as well. The issue is, such experiments are high-stakes risks and in this race of TRPs and getting the right numbers for profits, no one wants to deviate from the sure-shot formula to success.
Bold 1- The class of folks watching those serials changed.
It was a MC/UMC/UC phenomenon then, but primarily a LC/LMC/MC audience base today.
Of course there are other variables, but this is pretty much the biggest one.
Bold 2- this is my pet peeve as well. I believe the TRP system to be a HEAVILY flawed one- some 2,000 meters for the city of Mumbai, which essentially makes 1 meter represent what 10,000 people watch. Change this, and I think you'll see more empowering content on ITV.