Because I am eternally back on my bullshit (& haven’t posted this here yet), here’s what I wrote *four years ago* abt how short runs & short-term thinking from corporations (not from creators!) is killing TV. IMO the trend maybe kinda got worse since I wrote this 🙃 www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20...
There’s more to watch than ever, but series have fewer episodes—and fewer seasons—to prove themselves. Friends and Lost might not happen today.
Solid piece. I especially enjoyed this bit: "Some programs debut with those elements firing on all cylinders..." But SO MANY do not. They need time and space to figure themselves out. Just like a show evolves from the pilot to the series, shows evolve from season to season as comfort increses.
I have come to loathe episodic television because THIS. My new policy is to avoid new shows until they have made at least a few seasons. I’m not going to watch a new show cliffhanger at Season One only to be canceled. Heck that!
Just a reminder that Spider-Man was cancelled when his comics were first released, since it took almost a year to get sales figures back on how well the latest issues were doing. The comic they'd just cancelled was actually Marvel's best seller the month they 'canned' it.
maybe. kinda
I find it so interesting that Shonda was able to get Netflix to guarantee four seasons of Bridgerton, which means the seasons debut much closer together than is usual for a streamer, since they're not waiting for the metrics. Weirdly, people want more of a thing they like, faster!
I am still VERY much in the camp of "stop trying to suck as many dollars out of this as you can over years" by restricting series lengths in favor of actually telling good stories. Like, the UK 8 episode model is A-OK by me
If you’re always on your bullshit were you ever really off it?
I can appreciate your take on this phenomenon, but as a senior I find myself drawn to the series that are 6 or 10 episodes, and sometimes only one season. I think patience gets thinner as I get older. It's, standard practice for British series to tell their story and be done with it.
I find the first two seasons generally are the worst, especially with a comedy. Seems like the cast perfects their characters and their chemistry with each other by season three.
If I understood it correctly, the meat & potatoes of last year's writers' contract is going to have a pretty definitive impact on future series length as well, inasmuch as the number of writers they have to hire/pay will be dictated by the number of episodes scripted. I believe 6 is the first cutoff