The sad thing about the shorter seasons is for me the lost of the "filler episodes" where they focus on side characters or find a new location for an episode or show a perspective on the main characters you would never seen if it all was just plot driven. Or you just have a fun time, that is okay too. Characters like Blair Waldorfs, Dean Winchesters and many more are so hard to create in a show with shorter and plot driven seasons because those filler episodes give them new layers you wouldn't have expected. But maybe this is just my nostalgia talking
Such a good point about the layers to character, also some arcs are reaching their turning point very suddenly in some short shows. Feel Luke this could be 1 reason why.
I miss when series would have longer seasons in which episode by episode have a different A storyline but have a connecting B storyline that would culminate in the season finale
I 100% agree I I watch alot ben 10 2005, teen titans, Smallville, and the flash most of my favorite episodes are the filler just random wacky adventures and being able to see the characters in a non world ending threat like constant story, story, story is boring to bee bring back filler episodes
I think 22-24 episodes for a drama that are 40 minutes to an hour long might be too much, but that amount of episodes for a 30-minute sitcom honestly feels necessary. But if they could split the difference and start making 15ish episodes the norm, that would probably be ideal
Gossip Girl was like 50min 22 episodes and it was great, I felt it had more time to make us like the characters, it had time for the drama but also some funny scenes to break the tension, also the hiatus that had back then made the season feel even longer
When Euphoria S2 was airing, my sister and I had little watch parties with our friends. We'd buy a bunch of snacks and drinks and we'd all pile in one of my back rooms and eat up every minute of that damn show. As much as I like being able to watch things all at once, most of the legendary shows had the airing week-to-week format, and that's also how you build hype for it. Netflix's (and other streaming services) ideas of dropping 8 episodes all at once with no promotion and then immediately canceling it when it doesn't do well is ultimately not sustainable, and is why streaming services will fail in due time.
THIS! I find so many good shows after they are cancelled and be like "I didn't even know this show existed". They promote the reality shows and true crime to all hell so we know about those but almost all of the scripted stuff gets like 1 season
@@BlackQueenA1825 "I Am Not Okay With This" is a big example of that. Saw Wyatt Oleff and Sophia Lillis on the cover just after I got out of my "It" obsession and decided to watch it, and it was really good. Interesting premise, intriguing mystery, unique stylistic choices, I could go on about the positives. It already had built a small fanbase from the small amount of time it lasted, and right when I was getting hyped for a S2...canceled. Yet Grey's Anatomy crawls on for a 20th season.
Cutting My Babysitter's a Vampire on a cliff hanger actually left a scar on me. Every time I see a show getting cancelled on a cliff hanger (The Society, Grand Army, The Get Down, etc) I just get ptsd and remember that specific show because that was the first show I've experienced such a feeling😭 I think this system only works for Kdramas. While they do have short seasons, they have really long episodes and tell the full story plotline with little to no fillers. I don't think I've ever watched a kdrama that has more than one season lol, so I don't know how long it takes for them to release another season.
Yessss I totally get what you mean! The cliffhanger in the final season of Moesha left such a large hole in my heart that only gets larger every time I accidentally get too invested in a show that eventually gets cancelled 😭 Also the Get Down is probably one of my favourite tv show projects ever! It was unexpected but exciting to see Baz Luhrman direct a series for once. It’s a shame that the more high quality shows always seem to suffer the same fate :(
yes! I'm you actually enjoy watching shows and movies you didn't mind long, but if your just looking for the plot and situation to plot short is good. I love getting lost in a show for because i hate the after period where you feel empty because you haven't found a great show to watch yet to fill that whole.
With a show like stranger thing I wouldn't mind a little bit more episodes, especially because the story line can be a lot. I loved long shows it was just so fun. That also brings in the fact that might be controversial with some but I didn't mind euphoria Sundays it kept us on our feet and fed us over a period of time except for once
I feel like also back when they were doing 20 something episodes the episodes were about 22-25 minutes long and shows now that are doing 8-10 episodes each one be almost a full hour long.
Yes I agree show like stranger things should have at least 12 episodes, with fun events (something like the snowball in S2) the show is more plot driven than character driven tbh, also more episodes would mean more development and more friendships dynamics being in the center it was always show about friendship and now it's about shipping(?) Though the ships aren't giving, people have to come up with headcanons of what their favorite is like when the show isn't airing.. also with shorter episodes I've noticed it takes them the amount more time to release the next seasons while when they had more episodes (seasons but mostly episodes) they were releasing in shorter span of time with short hiatus now people forget the plot so the writers can repeat the same plot line twice and people will forget unless they decided to rewatch it.
@@denisablaskova3269 Stranger Things really doesn’t need more episodes. You want the show to keep its cinematic look and quality with great effects? Yeah, it should stay at 8 to 9.
Maybe streaming services making their own shows was a mistake. It's so much more fun when I'm binging a show that used to run on TV and has 22 episodes per season vs a new show that has 8 episodes and I can never know if it'll get picked up for another season
I think something else that's lost with these shorter seasons is time for the characters to really breathe and exist, and by extension, makes the viewers feel like they have a better understanding or even relationship with those characters. Like the number of times I've been watching a show and it's like by the time I've finally figured out all the main characters' names we're already at the finale. Compared to the shows I grew up watching, and continue rewatching, where you come out of each season and the show as a whole feeling like you have a very holistic and in depth understanding of each of the main characters, which makes for more interesting discussions about the show and the characters and be more invested when things occur. Time spent with the characters is important! I think sometimes people look back at 20+ episode seasons and assume a lot of it was "filler", but it it really wasn't nor does it have to be. The plot can very much still be moving, you could still have your characters doing exactly the same things but just by virtue of me watching them for 24 episodes instead of 8, I'm going to be more invested in their development and relationships, so even once the show declines in quality there's still somewhat of a connection there that keeps you watching. I've watched terrible shows till the last episode just because I felt I was too invested in the characters to give up, you don't get that when a show is 3 seasons, 6 episodes, with 3 years in between each season.
I’ve had this experience with a lot of limited shows I’ve encountered. They’re getting shorter in terms of overall duration knowing some people have short span attention. I don’t know many people around me who’d be willing to sit through 2-3 hours of movie time or more than an hour of watching a single episodes. I know for sure I have my own limits.
I think it’s less about people having short attention spans, and more about people’s attention span gradually *getting* shorter. I mean, TikTok and instagram reels? Not many have the ability to be patient and pay attention all the way through anymore. I’ve seen people skip simple 10 or 20 second TikTok’s.
I'm sorry, but Oppenheimer just proved this point wrong, people sat through a 3 hour long biopic and it made already about US$400M, if the content is good people will watch it
I think that long shows tend to be more overwhelming in terms of content load and processing capabilities, not necessarily the shortening attention spans. At least for me, Stranger Things was a hard watch due to episode lengths and the semi-awkward pacing of it, but somehow I sat through multiple 2 hour movies and varying k-dramas
@@queenv22 Really?! Perhaps it's because I really enjoyed Stranger Things, but the length of the show didn't register for me at all. I tuned in each season and never felt like I had to stop, even in the lengthy season 4. After I finished, I went straight to youtube and watched Stranger Things Theories xD subjectivity comes into play depending on the show, for sure. Same here with K-dramas. However, my only problem with K-dramas, particularly romance, is the pacing. I love “See you in My 19th Life” but I have to take breaks in between because my brain is like, “Get to the point!” Weird, my brain doesn't act that way with Stranger Things, but how you feel about ST is how I feel about some dramas.
in my opinion it comes down to writers and show runners making 8 part movies instead of a 22 episode narrative, good writers can make a 22 ep season hit and be awesome, just look at Abbot and how i met your father season 2.
True, true but I feel like writers have to fight the studio to get the number of episodes they want unless they sell a really good premise like the Dark writers
I've been saying for years. I'm tired of having to wait 1-3 years just for 8-10 episodes only(and that's if it doesn't get randomly cancelled after the first or second season.) Every time I complained about shorter seasons, people always come to me saying "quality over quantity". In reality, all these shorter seasons have less to due with the story and more to due with money. What I loved about 22 episode seasons was that it allows the story to develop at a slow but natural pace and you really got to know the characters in a truly meaningful way. Many would say that those types of seasons are chock full of filler as a result of having so many episodes, and while that has been true, the best shows found creative ways around that, either by splitting it up into two parts or having multiple storylines running at once. Some shows had seasons that were structured like a novel, with each episode serving as a chapter and certain points in the season serving like an act breaks. In contrast, shows with shorter seasons feel very rushed because they don't have time to let things breathe. They're always rushing to the next point. Add the fact that you have to wait much longer for the next season nowadays compared to back makes the small amount of episodes even more frustrating. (Before anyone says it, I'm well aware that part of that long wait is because shows these days have bigger budgets.) It's even worse when a show you like gets cancelled after its second or third season simply because these studios don't want to keep paying for it unless it's super successful. Even taking out personal enjoyment, these strikes also demostrate that these shorter seasons are really more a negative than a positive for the actors, writers, and the production crew. Because of the smaller episode count, they don't have a stable income, when compared to working on a longer seasons. While some may say "so what", not every actor is an A-list celebrity with multiple homes. Most actors are struggling and they may even have to work other jobs to make ends meet. Same goes for the writers and the production crew. It doesn't help when these streaming platforms are all too happy to remove shows just to avoid paying residuals. And now, these fuckers at the top are trying to use AI as a cost saving measure to avoid paying extras residuals and have writers only polish a script written by AI so that can only pay them once. To make a really long essay-like comment short, I would like to see a return towards longer seasons. Hell, it doesn't even have to be 22 episodes, I'd be cool if we got like 15-16 episodes. At least more then ten.
Longer season shows were very well thought out and you got to see the characters grow. I'm not as invested as I once was because things don't really change when you can only have six or eight episodes. I think that's why people still love older shows like one tree hill, gilmore girls, the vampire diaries, etc. We really got to see the characters be put through SO MUCH that we grew to love them even more and relate to them more. There have been some great shows with this new era of streaming but I can't say I love any of them more than I love those old shows where it was more thought out. Shows should have more dedication to them and aim for at least 12-16 episodes.
i mean, i still kinda go back to shows like 90210, the o.c, vampire diaries or even gossip girl because the shows at the time, were so good, 22 episodes wasn't a streach. infact, it got people so hoocked. season 2 could not come any sooner. Nowadays, the shows that are being given to us are so low quality, 8 episodes seems draining. Like honestsly, i didnt finish euphoria, untill summer of 22. yet by the end 3 weeks i was done with 4 seasons of gossip girl because, it is that good
This right here is my biggest complaint. I’m sorry but 8 episodes isn’t a season, it doesn’t matter how or what the tv show is about. There is no reason for this !!! It angers the shit outta me !!!!
To me the number of episodes should be up to the writers. The execs making these decisions is how we end up with shows with too much filler or that are super rushed.
I miss when dramas that were (40min to an hour) has 12-14 episode seasons and shorter form shows like sitcoms (24-30min) had 20-24 episodes. And I loved those mid season breaks
i once watched a 70 episode long drama where each episode was around 45 minutes long and ever since then i have lost all perception of what is considered a moderately run show length 😭 however, i watched a kdrama that only had 16 episodes but each episode was an hour long and it felt longer than any show i’d ever seen 💀
My biggest problem with the shorter seasons is how much they try to put in the eight episodes especially when shows have bigger casts. Like either we don’t get enough time with certain characters or they are making random things for secondary characters to do that we don’t care about. I like longer shows because we get spotlight episodes on different characters and we just get more quality time with the characters that we love. Also after finding out how much the writers have suffered from shows going from 22 to 8 makes me really love the shows that still have longer seasons
I think that 16 episodes is the sweet spot for 40 ish min episodes. Especially for sci fi/fantasy or action tv series. Only limited drama series should be doing 8 episodes.
I don't have the energy anymore to become obsessed with a show, only to binge 8 episodes and either wait 2/3/ years for the next season or discover it has been cancelled. Especially those that get cancelled after 1/2 seasons. Like The Society? OMG, still crushes my soul! Getting obsessed with a show is not only 8h worth of my time, but also all the time I spend thinking about obsessively, (kindly) stalking the actors (in a very non-threatening way), and watching a bunch of interviews on youtube for days after. It takes a lot of my time!! Not to mention fanfiction, fanart... I literally don't have the energy anymore 😂
How do you complain about a season being too short but then 22 is too long? No, I LOVE a good 22 episode season. On streaming I’m gonna be feasting for at least a week. It’s actually quite greedy 😂 but I love it. I also love a good mid season finale. It’s like 2 seasons in one. 🥰 This format is not for every show tho. I get it.
HBO is doing something right with weekly episodes. i couldn’t go on twitter for two or more months without seeing talk about Euphoria or The White Lotus when they were airing. it gives the conversation much more longevity and therefore a higher chance of success.
From what I understand with the strikes, it's important to keep reviewing and watching content in order to keep up the demand while the actors/writers cut off the supply. Otherwise no one's consuming content but no one's demanding it so studios just go "oh ok doesn't matter if people strike, no one cares" but if we keep consuming then they will see the clear demand and it will put more pressure on them. If they ask for reviews and viewers to boycott then 100% we should follow suit, but as I understand it that's not the case yet and we help them by continuing on as normal. Great video!
The rules for influencers are different than the rules for fans. There are specific guidelines for influencers, particularly those who might want to enter SAG as an influencer someday. He could be blacklisted.
@@lowkeyproductions6681 Oh OK thanks! I wasn't aware they'd made a statement about influencers, I'd just heard they were asking for reviewers to keep reviewing like normal.
i still watch lots of 10+ episode shows that come out with an episode every week (911, the rookie, new amsterdam for example). they are my favourite shows to watch but mainly because you can get way more invested in those kind of shows then you can binging 6 episode shows that you finish the same day…
In the UK it's never been common for a show to have 22 episodes because our TV production companies never had the budget for that we'd normally just get 6 episodes per season. I was always jealous that American shows got so much more than that. Saying that I do think that a great story can still be told in 6-10 episodes. But I do agree that the pay rates needs to get better.
I honestly love 10 episodes per season, less than that, I feel like it can get really rushed. BUT, for comedy and sitcoms, I still prefer 20 episodes, in the last season of B99 they did 10 and I don't think that worked well
Yeah I remember the mid season break’s especially for cartoons near November and December . I remember my sister asking me if the shows were cancelled and if they’re coming back, now I didn’t know all this specifics like you’re saying here at 5:25 however I used to tell her that it’s the holidays so I’m sure the writers are going on break and need that time before they make more. That’s what always made sense to me even as a kid.
I mostly watch Korean and Japanese dramas so I feel a bit disconnected from all this like, I want my shows to only have one season with 16 episodes and hopefully never come back tbh. A lot of them also don't drop everything all at once, even on Netflix or other streaming services. I stopped watching so many shows that had 20+ episodes, but it's easier to keep watching a show if there are only 8-10 episodes per season. Anyway, I hope writers, actors etc in the US figure it out, lots of changes need to be made...
I feel like 10-12 episode season would be the perfect amount. 24 is way too much and the plot seems to get lost a lot of the time just by looking back at some of my favorite shows from the 2010-2018 era
I can't watch that many episodes all at once, but I usually try to watch multiple different shows at once so that I can switch it up if I get bored of one show.
I genuinely miss 22~24 episode seasons, when series would have 3 to 5 seasons and film seasons back to back. I'm tired of watching new shows, getting completely obsessed, then having to wait years for a next season or worse the show being cancelled. Also while I do love binging shows, I also like being able to take my time and give myself time to digest what I watched. I prefer to binge a show over the course of a couple days to a week as opposed to a day. Lately I've just been exploring older TV shows like I just finished watching Alias which I watched over the course of a month and a half and I was absolutely obsessed. I typically watched 2 to 6 episodes directly after work and it felt almost therapeutic just having so much content to watch. I just know Alias will be in my rotation of shows I rewatch yearly.
When you were talking about how shoes had the mid season break, I immediately thought of my babysitters a vampire. Almost got chills when you said it. I thought everyone forgot about that show 😂
This is exactly what I said with Euphoria. How was s2 made in 2022 and we gonna have to wait till 2025 for s3. Like i hope thats the last season cause wtf 😬
I seriously wonder how Season 3 of Euphoria will deal with the departure of Barbie Ferreira and the death of Angus Cloud. Is Kat going to move away? Will Fez die too? He got shot during his last appearance after all! 🤔
honestly i love the 22 episode seasons of shows. it gives me more time to obsess over the characters and enjoy it. i get tired of constantly having to find a new show to watch when im done with short shows
Fr cause back then so many people would complain that there were too many filler episodes in a show and now shows are way too short 😭 I miss my filler episodes 😓
Honestly. With me being TERRIFIED to watch anything new right now incase I fall in love with a show & it gets canceled (It took me a good couple of years to watch OBX, Sex Education & even Euphoria cuz I was too scared too!) & currently opting to watch my older favorite dramas from 2000s, 2010s, only one from the 90s (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, cuz thats the only one I know of) I think a season should be in the middle & have a max 15 episodes. Like it's not to short to rush & you don't have to do "filler episodes" either to save time.
I always thought 20 episodes for a season was too much for any show but 6 to 8 is way too short, it needs to be in the middle for everything to make sense and not padded on too, like 12 to 16 episodes.
This was a very interesting watch. Thanks for researching and making this because I enjoyed it. I get streaming services not committing to 22 - 24 episodes before they know that a series will be popular. But tv networks also did the same where a show might get ordered for like 8 - 13 episodes the 1st season and then moved up to the 22 - 24 a season. I don't really understand why streaming acts like they can't do the same. A lot of network shows also drop back down to 12 - 14 episodes near the end of a lot of series as viewership goes down and they decide to cancel the show. I wish streaming would adjust. I will say that batch drops of tv on streaming has spoiled us. Tv shows only doing 4 episodes at a time or weekly episodes doesn't really affect me or people that I know. Because when the conversation about a popular shows comes up, we wind up saying "I'm waiting until all of the episodes are out before I watch it". Maybe that's just people that I know. But if a show was doing like 22 episodes, I'd commit to watching weekly since I wouldn't want to wait 22 weeks or longer to start watching. But waiting a month or 2 to watch an entire series is not a hardship so I'd rather get to watch at my own pace.
I'm still mourning The Society, as well as being disappointed that not enough effort was put into the shows Fate: The Winx Saga and the Warrior Nun. The way streaming and this new era of whiplash content with a fifteen second lifespan is brutal. I miss when shows where putting out 20 episodes per season. I don't have Netflix anymore because I got sick of all of the shows that I followed and loved being butchered and killed off within it's first month being out. Edit: Also, shout out to Lockwood & Co. That show was soooo good and should have gotten another season :(
my baby sitters a vampire only had like 20-30 episodes in its entire run..i was thinking of more the vampire diaries or Greys Anatomy that had mid season finales more and many filler episodes
for a bit over a year, most of the shows that I have been watching were korean shows. Most of them are 16 episodes, usually around one hour in length each. They are almost always standalone stories (in the sense that when the series ends after the 16th episode, there will not be any next season or whatever. But anyway, the way that these shows are released is that they are released on two days in a row each week (for example Saturday and Sunday), and that is the way that they show up on steaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Viki, etc). Right now, theres a show coming out called Beyond your Touch. It is my first time watching one of these shows live as they come out instead of doing the binging route, and honestly I kinda like it. [somewhat off topic but not really, but I actually kinda miss the recaps that shows used to have at beginning of episodes (think Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl,etc)]
I’m rooting for the writers & 15 episode seasons after the strike! I also think the creators need some type of “Guaranteed X amount of seasons” contract, to reduce early cancellations
I totally agree that a lot of the shows on the streaming services aren’t even good and yet I’m waiting years for an actually good show. 22 episodes feed my soul and the week by week approach is so much better in my opinion. Anyway love ya 😊
I appreciate network tv shows having episodes come out most weeks during the American school year. It gave and gives me something to look forward to during the week. Like new episodes of That’s So Raven, Suite Life, Hannah Montana on Friday nights in the early 2000s
two shows that were really good that I really loved and enjoyed, but was taken off of Netflix and left on a cliffhanger were Everything Sucks and I Am Not Okay With This. It really annoys me because those shows were so good😭😭. Not only that but they canceled and took off Everything Sucks for The Kissing Booth? What a waste of time and talent. may I say. justice for Everything Sucks and I Am Not Okay With This.
it's interesting also because i've seen so many people who are exhausted with the streaming model at this point. as viewers. and i completely agree because as the audience of these tv shows it's like... you have about 2 weeks after a show comes out to watch all of it because no one talks about it outside of that timeframe. it's just already irrelevant. in contrast, i've been watched star trek strange new worlds and it's still released weekly and it's . every week i watch the episode like a day after it comes out (personal schedule things) and then i have basically a whole week to talk about it with other fans of the show. it's a 10 episode season so the hype is basically like... 3 months long. and i don't have to stress myself out by watching a 10 hour long show the weekend it drops. i LOVE weekly releases. i think everything should be weekly releases.
I do see his point about binge watching but my first experience with binge watching was during Covid and we definitely had time during that to watch a 22 episode season of a show. Did it take longer than a day yes but there were several shows that had 22 hour long episodes in a season and really enjoyed them.
In the batch dropping section where you talk about how tuned in everyone was for euphoria, I think this is why anime is so successful. Barely any anime upload every episode unless it’s a Netflix original. I remember when attack on titans final season was coming out and kids on my bus or in class would all talk about what happened and their fan theories the entire week until the next episode. It was the highlight of hybrid school☺️
I think it all comes down to the differences in how the money is made. For network and ad-revenue cable, it's about how many people watch the show. So you need more episodes to reinforce the habit of watching so the ratings stay high and the ad rates stay high. For streaming and ad-free cable, it's about attracting and holding on to subscribers regardless of how much they actually watch. So you need shows that create buzz and attract new subscribers, and then you need to keep teasing those subscribers with anticipation about upcoming shows/seasons so they stay subscribed. This is why we see (1) splashy shows/films with big names and buzzy concepts and (2) long breaks between seasons. Even if your favorite show isn't going to release a new season for months or years, the streaming service is still making money as long as you don't cancel your subscription.
I like to feel like my comment on your last Hollywood strike video might've played a part in this video being made. It needed a deep dive cause this phenomenon is only growing.
As someone who grew up watching a lot of British TV so seeing shows getting condensed to “tighter” seasons was in hopes of making “better” shows. And at first, we did. Sadly it seems that the management is too busy trying to “optimize” the content instead of leveraging it to make more diverse stories accessible. The other sad side effect of the binge effect ruins becoming apart of the culture. If there’s a season drop it lingers for a month maybe two. While on an episodic release, it doesn’t get to build up into the zeitgeist (outside of critic acclaim and the ones who initially watched it).
I've purposely went back to watching older shows that are already finished since they were on cable. i like the longer episode count and I know that I won't be left with a random cliff hanger that was meant to continue the next season. my parents make fun of me since I don't really watch anything new
tvd is back on netflix in germany right now and I got SO nostalgic because of the 22 episode seasons. God I miss the filler episodes that were there just for the characters to do shit
Not done the video so this may be brought up, but i also think its significant that so many shows on streaming platforms are approved for a first season eithout a pilot, whereas shows used to write a pilot to show networks to get picked up. This leads to greater budgets for the 1st episode(and season), but it also means that things are more likely to get cut after 1 season and that they wouldnt approve longer seasons to begin with!
I really like 22 episodes seasons because I get more ship’s relationships romantic or platonic and get to see more of my favorite characters (And I also have a problem with watching a lot of shows so I have the time like I watched the whole show of the rookie in a week)
I re-watch Supernatural every year, and I have ADHD, you're right about shows like said creating a cult like fanbase because of the distribution of production. I really appreciated the show more because of it.
The last on tv show that I’ve watched was The flash (finished in may). Yes, the writing wasn’t good by the end but I religiously watched that show every single week for years. And they were also very guilty of the dramatic mid season finale. Honestly though now there just hasn’t been anything new that I’m excited to watch that’s NOT on a streaming service and that’s not only 10 episodes or less. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I prefer the weekly episodes and I miss the super long seasons. That being said I do appreciate Apple TV for example for not putting all their episodes out at once for shows like The Crowded Room and Hijack, it’s been fun to actually wait for new weekly episodes again
The original gossip girl gave us a full season with mostly 20+ episodes over a school year and took a 3 months break. The reboot gave us like 12 and took a year break
As far back as I can remember (so the early 2000’s lmao) anime were very commonly released with 8-12 episodes. And some of those shows were life changing for me I mean they were amazing watches. So I get everything you said and I actually agree but I can’t help but point out we already had shows running for this short time period AND huge gaps between releases because if you’re waiting on an anime my god you’ll be waiting a long time
Bro this! I watched that 90s show on Netflix and really enjoyed it but my biggest problem was that there were 10 episodes that were ~22 minutes each... for a sitcom! The 2nd season is said to have 16 when it comes out but let's be real that's still not enough. Then, I realized this trend myself and check a bunch of random netflix shows' episode amounts and it ranged from 6-12, like why?
It's the attention span for me, I used to say that I missed multiple seasons 20+ episodes shows but then I rewatched a bit on one tree hill and Dawson's creek and I said nah in 2023 we wouldn't be able to follow through shows like that anymore. filler episodes after filler episodes, the plot going nowhere for multiple episodes straight. We are now used to 10 episodes condensed of content, idk if we can go back to how it was
I, like most people have stopped watching cable TV but I feel like TH-cam -shows have become the new cable TV for me although you might have to wait a bit longer for a new episode to drop. With Disadventure camp and Wingfeather saga you wait one or two weeks (although the Wingfeather saga is in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to new episodes since they are working on season 2) and with murder drones you get one episode every two months or so but, it’s worth the wait, all of these shows are pretty damn good
For real? My fav shows are Friends, Glee, Modern Family, How I met your mother and skins, exactly because the seasons are big and there are many seasons! I love disney channel and nickelodeon having those 25 episode seasons because I accompanied the characters, their growth, their ups and downs navigating either that year in high school or in life, that is the best part. How do you really know 5 characters or more in 8 episodes? All shows now seem so rushed and I get that it’s because our gen is very anxious and accustomed to short form content but Idk, I'm 20 and I still love long shows and long youtube videos and don't really love tiktok, only see some instagram reels 🤷🏽♀️ And I'm an actress in the making and I just wish we could have shows like Friends and Glee that made people fan over the characters for years on end and people still love them and accompany the actors to this day. That is my dream, getting that back and being in one, as an actress ❤
as someone who still keeps up with Disney channel…it’s not like a thing of the past. their seasons are still getting plenty of episodes. but we have reached a point where most of them are released on D+ before the channel as a ‘batch-drop’.
I have been returning to watching old longer shows tbh or barely watching shows at all and sitting on TH-cam. I'm just done with the current format and seeing al the lost potential I think or being disappointed when a good show I'm invested in gets cancelled. At least with old shows that have already finished, you know what you'll get, but I'll run out of that soon too I think lol I think we can get used to longer shows again and train our attention spans back to what it was if we want, and I think the week by week released hype format you mentioned will help make that easier
If the show is dead-on in its content, and has everything going well for it, and is something I can truly get behind (like Emergency! was in the 70s, that NBC medical/action series then about firefighters, paramedics and doctors in L.A. County; I've enjoyed that very much on DVD, and still do and still will), I'll blow through a season like that; quite a few shows on DVD have been like that for me (many others, however, have not been as good as that to me).
I don't mind 22 episodes per season, I am someone who still prefers network comedies and love it when they do longer seasons, but for dramas I would say 10-15 is better, or actually splitting the story to have the mid season finale serve as break point, one of my favorite shows Agents of Shield, perfected that formula and managed to have 22 episodes broken into smaller stories that it didn't feel meandering. But also, what's so bad about a procedural show with baddie of the week style episodes or shows having the random filler episodes, it works for anime! I think the streaming services tried to please the people with low attention span and just throw things at them to consume, but it makes their shows so forgettable and struggle to stand out.
i just had a thought. do you think streaming services stretch out time in between seasons to keep us subscribed for longer? also: zeus does weekly episode drops and i feel like that’s caused a lot of popularity especially with baddies
I feel like Sherlock changed everything when it came out. People realize you could have a good show with very few episodes and that the Watchers we keep coming back even though it took years in between. Now every show thinks it's Sherlock and can get away with it but they can't a lot of times.
I grew up when TV shows were 22 episodes regardless if they were an hour long or 30 minutes, this is why I want to write for TV and movies. Today I think a 22-episode is a bit long for this fast-moving society today. I think a 15-episode TV season is a bit reasonable no matter if it's streaming and/or broadcasting.
Abbott Elementary is the show that made me remember why 22 episode series CAN hit
I love Abbott Elementary! It's such a great show and cast!
YES! I joined the fanbase late but when I watch S1 I felt in LOVE!!!
But its also 25min long so say that when it's 22ep an a hour long ..
@@wyntahb3968law and order...
The sad thing about the shorter seasons is for me the lost of the "filler episodes" where they focus on side characters or find a new location for an episode or show a perspective on the main characters you would never seen if it all was just plot driven. Or you just have a fun time, that is okay too. Characters like Blair Waldorfs, Dean Winchesters and many more are so hard to create in a show with shorter and plot driven seasons because those filler episodes give them new layers you wouldn't have expected. But maybe this is just my nostalgia talking
Filler episodes can be so fun! Like you said it gives a chance to explore certain other storylines or side characters.
Such a good point about the layers to character, also some arcs are reaching their turning point very suddenly in some short shows. Feel Luke this could be 1 reason why.
Depending on the show, I love filler episodes for this exact reason
I miss when series would have longer seasons in which episode by episode have a different A storyline but have a connecting B storyline that would culminate in the season finale
I 100% agree I I watch alot ben 10 2005, teen titans, Smallville, and the flash most of my favorite episodes are the filler just random wacky adventures and being able to see the characters in a non world ending threat like constant story, story, story is boring to bee bring back filler episodes
3-4 year wait is crazy I remember when shows used to drop the second season 8-10 months after the first
The cilling advendtures of Sabrina
Never have I ever
I think 22-24 episodes for a drama that are 40 minutes to an hour long might be too much, but that amount of episodes for a 30-minute sitcom honestly feels necessary. But if they could split the difference and start making 15ish episodes the norm, that would probably be ideal
16 like in kdramas is perfect
Gossip Girl was like 50min 22 episodes and it was great, I felt it had more time to make us like the characters, it had time for the drama but also some funny scenes to break the tension, also the hiatus that had back then made the season feel even longer
@@carolitoffanasame with greys anatomy, story lines were well developed instead of rushed
Chinese dramas typically start around those numbers up to 40 and 60 episodes. Novelas are much longer.
@@magnolia2 true but most of the time they don't get a 2nd season it's just a full story
I hope that the Strike eventually gets sorted out soon. The writers help to make the stories come to life, and they deserve to get paid high wages.
When Euphoria S2 was airing, my sister and I had little watch parties with our friends. We'd buy a bunch of snacks and drinks and we'd all pile in one of my back rooms and eat up every minute of that damn show. As much as I like being able to watch things all at once, most of the legendary shows had the airing week-to-week format, and that's also how you build hype for it. Netflix's (and other streaming services) ideas of dropping 8 episodes all at once with no promotion and then immediately canceling it when it doesn't do well is ultimately not sustainable, and is why streaming services will fail in due time.
yes. they cancel EVERY GOOD SHOW. It's nuts.
Yet they keep pouring more and more money into these streaming services and paying writers less and less 😤😤
THIS! I find so many good shows after they are cancelled and be like "I didn't even know this show existed". They promote the reality shows and true crime to all hell so we know about those but almost all of the scripted stuff gets like 1 season
@@BlackQueenA1825 "I Am Not Okay With This" is a big example of that. Saw Wyatt Oleff and Sophia Lillis on the cover just after I got out of my "It" obsession and decided to watch it, and it was really good. Interesting premise, intriguing mystery, unique stylistic choices, I could go on about the positives. It already had built a small fanbase from the small amount of time it lasted, and right when I was getting hyped for a S2...canceled. Yet Grey's Anatomy crawls on for a 20th season.
@@stringybeanssthey wanted to avoid paying residuals and bonuses starting in season 3
Cutting My Babysitter's a Vampire on a cliff hanger actually left a scar on me. Every time I see a show getting cancelled on a cliff hanger (The Society, Grand Army, The Get Down, etc) I just get ptsd and remember that specific show because that was the first show I've experienced such a feeling😭
I think this system only works for Kdramas. While they do have short seasons, they have really long episodes and tell the full story plotline with little to no fillers. I don't think I've ever watched a kdrama that has more than one season lol, so I don't know how long it takes for them to release another season.
One of my favorite shows Faking it got canned after 2 seasons on a cliffhanger
Have a look at the real has come
I thought the get down was ok
Yessss I totally get what you mean! The cliffhanger in the final season of Moesha left such a large hole in my heart that only gets larger every time I accidentally get too invested in a show that eventually gets cancelled 😭
Also the Get Down is probably one of my favourite tv show projects ever! It was unexpected but exciting to see Baz Luhrman direct a series for once.
It’s a shame that the more high quality shows always seem to suffer the same fate :(
it scars me
The shift in episode numbers hit me hard. It now shocks me when a show has 10 episodes
yes! I'm you actually enjoy watching shows and movies you didn't mind long, but if your just looking for the plot and situation to plot short is good. I love getting lost in a show for because i hate the after period where you feel empty because you haven't found a great show to watch yet to fill that whole.
the 30 min 8 episode format needs to be abolished. I love the abbott still has 20+ episodes
With a show like stranger thing I wouldn't mind a little bit more episodes, especially because the story line can be a lot. I loved long shows it was just so fun. That also brings in the fact that might be controversial with some but I didn't mind euphoria Sundays it kept us on our feet and fed us over a period of time except for once
I feel like also back when they were doing 20 something episodes the episodes were about 22-25 minutes long and shows now that are doing 8-10 episodes each one be almost a full hour long.
Yes I agree show like stranger things should have at least 12 episodes, with fun events (something like the snowball in S2) the show is more plot driven than character driven tbh, also more episodes would mean more development and more friendships dynamics being in the center it was always show about friendship and now it's about shipping(?) Though the ships aren't giving, people have to come up with headcanons of what their favorite is like when the show isn't airing.. also with shorter episodes I've noticed it takes them the amount more time to release the next seasons while when they had more episodes (seasons but mostly episodes) they were releasing in shorter span of time with short hiatus now people forget the plot so the writers can repeat the same plot line twice and people will forget unless they decided to rewatch it.
@@denisablaskova3269 Stranger Things really doesn’t need more episodes. You want the show to keep its cinematic look and quality with great effects? Yeah, it should stay at 8 to 9.
Can we agree we’re all happy when we he posts?
Oh my God YESSS PUH LEASE
most definitely
yuup :)
YESS
Oh hell yassss
Maybe streaming services making their own shows was a mistake. It's so much more fun when I'm binging a show that used to run on TV and has 22 episodes per season vs a new show that has 8 episodes and I can never know if it'll get picked up for another season
agreed!
I think something else that's lost with these shorter seasons is time for the characters to really breathe and exist, and by extension, makes the viewers feel like they have a better understanding or even relationship with those characters. Like the number of times I've been watching a show and it's like by the time I've finally figured out all the main characters' names we're already at the finale. Compared to the shows I grew up watching, and continue rewatching, where you come out of each season and the show as a whole feeling like you have a very holistic and in depth understanding of each of the main characters, which makes for more interesting discussions about the show and the characters and be more invested when things occur. Time spent with the characters is important! I think sometimes people look back at 20+ episode seasons and assume a lot of it was "filler", but it it really wasn't nor does it have to be. The plot can very much still be moving, you could still have your characters doing exactly the same things but just by virtue of me watching them for 24 episodes instead of 8, I'm going to be more invested in their development and relationships, so even once the show declines in quality there's still somewhat of a connection there that keeps you watching. I've watched terrible shows till the last episode just because I felt I was too invested in the characters to give up, you don't get that when a show is 3 seasons, 6 episodes, with 3 years in between each season.
I’ve had this experience with a lot of limited shows I’ve encountered. They’re getting shorter in terms of overall duration knowing some people have short span attention. I don’t know many people around me who’d be willing to sit through 2-3 hours of movie time or more than an hour of watching a single episodes. I know for sure I have my own limits.
I think it’s less about people having short attention spans, and more about people’s attention span gradually *getting* shorter. I mean, TikTok and instagram reels? Not many have the ability to be patient and pay attention all the way through anymore. I’ve seen people skip simple 10 or 20 second TikTok’s.
I'm sorry, but Oppenheimer just proved this point wrong, people sat through a 3 hour long biopic and it made already about US$400M, if the content is good people will watch it
@@carolitoffanai beg to differ, a lot of people stayed on their phones a lot of the time, only tuning in during the explosions and loud scenes.
I think that long shows tend to be more overwhelming in terms of content load and processing capabilities, not necessarily the shortening attention spans. At least for me, Stranger Things was a hard watch due to episode lengths and the semi-awkward pacing of it, but somehow I sat through multiple 2 hour movies and varying k-dramas
@@queenv22 Really?! Perhaps it's because I really enjoyed Stranger Things, but the length of the show didn't register for me at all. I tuned in each season and never felt like I had to stop, even in the lengthy season 4. After I finished, I went straight to youtube and watched Stranger Things Theories xD subjectivity comes into play depending on the show, for sure. Same here with K-dramas. However, my only problem with K-dramas, particularly romance, is the pacing. I love “See you in My 19th Life” but I have to take breaks in between because my brain is like, “Get to the point!” Weird, my brain doesn't act that way with Stranger Things, but how you feel about ST is how I feel about some dramas.
in my opinion it comes down to writers and show runners making 8 part movies instead of a 22 episode narrative, good writers can make a 22 ep season hit and be awesome, just look at Abbot and how i met your father season 2.
True, true but I feel like writers have to fight the studio to get the number of episodes they want unless they sell a really good premise like the Dark writers
I've been saying for years. I'm tired of having to wait 1-3 years just for 8-10 episodes only(and that's if it doesn't get randomly cancelled after the first or second season.) Every time I complained about shorter seasons, people always come to me saying "quality over quantity". In reality, all these shorter seasons have less to due with the story and more to due with money.
What I loved about 22 episode seasons was that it allows the story to develop at a slow but natural pace and you really got to know the characters in a truly meaningful way. Many would say that those types of seasons are chock full of filler as a result of having so many episodes, and while that has been true, the best shows found creative ways around that, either by splitting it up into two parts or having multiple storylines running at once. Some shows had seasons that were structured like a novel, with each episode serving as a chapter and certain points in the season serving like an act breaks.
In contrast, shows with shorter seasons feel very rushed because they don't have time to let things breathe. They're always rushing to the next point. Add the fact that you have to wait much longer for the next season nowadays compared to back makes the small amount of episodes even more frustrating. (Before anyone says it, I'm well aware that part of that long wait is because shows these days have bigger budgets.) It's even worse when a show you like gets cancelled after its second or third season simply because these studios don't want to keep paying for it unless it's super successful.
Even taking out personal enjoyment, these strikes also demostrate that these shorter seasons are really more a negative than a positive for the actors, writers, and the production crew. Because of the smaller episode count, they don't have a stable income, when compared to working on a longer seasons. While some may say "so what", not every actor is an A-list celebrity with multiple homes. Most actors are struggling and they may even have to work other jobs to make ends meet. Same goes for the writers and the production crew. It doesn't help when these streaming platforms are all too happy to remove shows just to avoid paying residuals. And now, these fuckers at the top are trying to use AI as a cost saving measure to avoid paying extras residuals and have writers only polish a script written by AI so that can only pay them once.
To make a really long essay-like comment short, I would like to see a return towards longer seasons. Hell, it doesn't even have to be 22 episodes, I'd be cool if we got like 15-16 episodes. At least more then ten.
Like The Vampire Diaries! Totally loved the 22 episode seasons
Longer season shows were very well thought out and you got to see the characters grow. I'm not as invested as I once was because things don't really change when you can only have six or eight episodes. I think that's why people still love older shows like one tree hill, gilmore girls, the vampire diaries, etc. We really got to see the characters be put through SO MUCH that we grew to love them even more and relate to them more. There have been some great shows with this new era of streaming but I can't say I love any of them more than I love those old shows where it was more thought out. Shows should have more dedication to them and aim for at least 12-16 episodes.
i mean, i still kinda go back to shows like 90210, the o.c, vampire diaries or even gossip girl because the shows at the time, were so good, 22 episodes wasn't a streach. infact, it got people so hoocked. season 2 could not come any sooner. Nowadays, the shows that are being given to us are so low quality, 8 episodes seems draining. Like honestsly, i didnt finish euphoria, untill summer of 22. yet by the end 3 weeks i was done with 4 seasons of gossip girl because, it is that good
This right here is my biggest complaint. I’m sorry but 8 episodes isn’t a season, it doesn’t matter how or what the tv show is about. There is no reason for this !!! It angers the shit outta me !!!!
To me the number of episodes should be up to the writers. The execs making these decisions is how we end up with shows with too much filler or that are super rushed.
That concept isn't realistic
@@fishhyyy6896Why?
I tend to prefer shorter series but when you take 2 to 3 years to make a series especially one like Stranger Things, give us more.
I miss when dramas that were (40min to an hour) has 12-14 episode seasons and shorter form shows like sitcoms (24-30min) had 20-24 episodes. And I loved those mid season breaks
I started watching your channel strictly for your TV show reviews but now I'm so in love with each and everything you upload.
best comment 🫶🏾
omg yesss I watched heartbreak high bc he recommended it and I am OBSESSED!!
i once watched a 70 episode long drama where each episode was around 45 minutes long and ever since then i have lost all perception of what is considered a moderately run show length 😭 however, i watched a kdrama that only had 16 episodes but each episode was an hour long and it felt longer than any show i’d ever seen 💀
My biggest problem with the shorter seasons is how much they try to put in the eight episodes especially when shows have bigger casts. Like either we don’t get enough time with certain characters or they are making random things for secondary characters to do that we don’t care about. I like longer shows because we get spotlight episodes on different characters and we just get more quality time with the characters that we love. Also after finding out how much the writers have suffered from shows going from 22 to 8 makes me really love the shows that still have longer seasons
this is @heartstopper- 💀
I think that 16 episodes is the sweet spot for 40 ish min episodes. Especially for sci fi/fantasy or action tv series. Only limited drama series should be doing 8 episodes.
I MISS SHOWS LIKE PLL & TVD WHEN THERE WERE 40-MINUTE 20 EPISODES PER SEASON EVERY 1-2 YEARS 😭😭😭
I don't have the energy anymore to become obsessed with a show, only to binge 8 episodes and either wait 2/3/ years for the next season or discover it has been cancelled. Especially those that get cancelled after 1/2 seasons. Like The Society? OMG, still crushes my soul!
Getting obsessed with a show is not only 8h worth of my time, but also all the time I spend thinking about obsessively, (kindly) stalking the actors (in a very non-threatening way), and watching a bunch of interviews on youtube for days after. It takes a lot of my time!! Not to mention fanfiction, fanart... I literally don't have the energy anymore 😂
It's so FOUL that Sex Educations final season with og cast + Dan Levi is only 8 episodes
OH A SHOW WE'VE BEEN WAITING OVER 2 YEARS
Can't wait to stream but I don't think this is
Long enough ***
When is it coming out?
Right? Remember when shows had 20+ episodes? Now, I finish them in 2 days. That’s no fun. 😟
How do you complain about a season being too short but then 22 is too long? No, I LOVE a good 22 episode season. On streaming I’m gonna be feasting for at least a week. It’s actually quite greedy 😂 but I love it. I also love a good mid season finale. It’s like 2 seasons in one. 🥰 This format is not for every show tho. I get it.
u right HAHAH. if they're gonna be short at LEAST have them come out on a consistent basis
@@imuRgency yes child, I feel you. It’s like playing with our hearts.
HBO is doing something right with weekly episodes. i couldn’t go on twitter for two or more months without seeing talk about Euphoria or The White Lotus when they were airing. it gives the conversation much more longevity and therefore a higher chance of success.
From what I understand with the strikes, it's important to keep reviewing and watching content in order to keep up the demand while the actors/writers cut off the supply. Otherwise no one's consuming content but no one's demanding it so studios just go "oh ok doesn't matter if people strike, no one cares" but if we keep consuming then they will see the clear demand and it will put more pressure on them. If they ask for reviews and viewers to boycott then 100% we should follow suit, but as I understand it that's not the case yet and we help them by continuing on as normal. Great video!
The rules for influencers are different than the rules for fans. There are specific guidelines for influencers, particularly those who might want to enter SAG as an influencer someday. He could be blacklisted.
@@lowkeyproductions6681 Oh OK thanks! I wasn't aware they'd made a statement about influencers, I'd just heard they were asking for reviewers to keep reviewing like normal.
Thanks for this video! I miss the 20 to 24 episodes being released weekly!
i still watch lots of 10+ episode shows that come out with an episode every week (911, the rookie, new amsterdam for example).
they are my favourite shows to watch but mainly because you can get way more invested in those kind of shows then you can binging 6 episode shows that you finish the same day…
i am so glad you talked about MBAV because i loved that show growing up and I was sad when it got canceled without an ending.
the taste jumped out!!!
In the UK it's never been common for a show to have 22 episodes because our TV production companies never had the budget for that we'd normally just get 6 episodes per season. I was always jealous that American shows got so much more than that. Saying that I do think that a great story can still be told in 6-10 episodes. But I do agree that the pay rates needs to get better.
Facts
I honestly love 10 episodes per season, less than that, I feel like it can get really rushed. BUT, for comedy and sitcoms, I still prefer 20 episodes, in the last season of B99 they did 10 and I don't think that worked well
Agreed
Yeah I remember the mid season break’s especially for cartoons near November and December . I remember my sister asking me if the shows were cancelled and if they’re coming back, now I didn’t know all this specifics like you’re saying here at 5:25 however I used to tell her that it’s the holidays so I’m sure the writers are going on break and need that time before they make more. That’s what always made sense to me even as a kid.
I mostly watch Korean and Japanese dramas so I feel a bit disconnected from all this like, I want my shows to only have one season with 16 episodes and hopefully never come back tbh. A lot of them also don't drop everything all at once, even on Netflix or other streaming services. I stopped watching so many shows that had 20+ episodes, but it's easier to keep watching a show if there are only 8-10 episodes per season. Anyway, I hope writers, actors etc in the US figure it out, lots of changes need to be made...
I will never forget when Netflix had people waiting almost 3 year for season 3 of MindHunters only to be potentially cancelled.
I feel like 10-12 episode season would be the perfect amount. 24 is way too much and the plot seems to get lost a lot of the time just by looking back at some of my favorite shows from the 2010-2018 era
I will never forgive Netflix for canceling Anne With An E😔
A few CW shows actually still have those mid season breaks. I'm just thinking of All American. It feels so weird, but yeah. Great video, as per ush.🔥
I can't watch that many episodes all at once, but I usually try to watch multiple different shows at once so that I can switch it up if I get bored of one show.
I genuinely miss 22~24 episode seasons, when series would have 3 to 5 seasons and film seasons back to back. I'm tired of watching new shows, getting completely obsessed, then having to wait years for a next season or worse the show being cancelled.
Also while I do love binging shows, I also like being able to take my time and give myself time to digest what I watched. I prefer to binge a show over the course of a couple days to a week as opposed to a day.
Lately I've just been exploring older TV shows like I just finished watching Alias which I watched over the course of a month and a half and I was absolutely obsessed. I typically watched 2 to 6 episodes directly after work and it felt almost therapeutic just having so much content to watch. I just know Alias will be in my rotation of shows I rewatch yearly.
When you were talking about how shoes had the mid season break, I immediately thought of my babysitters a vampire. Almost got chills when you said it. I thought everyone forgot about that show 😂
This is exactly what I said with Euphoria. How was s2 made in 2022 and we gonna have to wait till 2025 for s3. Like i hope thats the last season cause wtf 😬
I seriously wonder how Season 3 of Euphoria will deal with the departure of Barbie Ferreira and the death of Angus Cloud. Is Kat going to move away? Will Fez die too? He got shot during his last appearance after all! 🤔
I grew up watching 24 episodes of an anime in 3 days. As long as my hands are occupied with a craft project, I'm good.
honestly i love the 22 episode seasons of shows. it gives me more time to obsess over the characters and enjoy it. i get tired of constantly having to find a new show to watch when im done with short shows
Fr cause back then so many people would complain that there were too many filler episodes in a show and now shows are way too short 😭
I miss my filler episodes 😓
Honestly. With me being TERRIFIED to watch anything new right now incase I fall in love with a show & it gets canceled (It took me a good couple of years to watch OBX, Sex Education & even Euphoria cuz I was too scared too!) & currently opting to watch my older favorite dramas from 2000s, 2010s, only one from the 90s (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, cuz thats the only one I know of) I think a season should be in the middle & have a max 15 episodes. Like it's not to short to rush & you don't have to do "filler episodes" either to save time.
With many Kdrama being 16 episode I found that to be the perfect sweet spot for amount of episode
I always thought 20 episodes for a season was too much for any show but 6 to 8 is way too short, it needs to be in the middle for everything to make sense and not padded on too, like 12 to 16 episodes.
This was a very interesting watch. Thanks for researching and making this because I enjoyed it.
I get streaming services not committing to 22 - 24 episodes before they know that a series will be popular. But tv networks also did the same where a show might get ordered for like 8 - 13 episodes the 1st season and then moved up to the 22 - 24 a season. I don't really understand why streaming acts like they can't do the same. A lot of network shows also drop back down to 12 - 14 episodes near the end of a lot of series as viewership goes down and they decide to cancel the show. I wish streaming would adjust.
I will say that batch drops of tv on streaming has spoiled us. Tv shows only doing 4 episodes at a time or weekly episodes doesn't really affect me or people that I know. Because when the conversation about a popular shows comes up, we wind up saying "I'm waiting until all of the episodes are out before I watch it". Maybe that's just people that I know. But if a show was doing like 22 episodes, I'd commit to watching weekly since I wouldn't want to wait 22 weeks or longer to start watching. But waiting a month or 2 to watch an entire series is not a hardship so I'd rather get to watch at my own pace.
I'm still mourning The Society, as well as being disappointed that not enough effort was put into the shows Fate: The Winx Saga and the Warrior Nun. The way streaming and this new era of whiplash content with a fifteen second lifespan is brutal. I miss when shows where putting out 20 episodes per season. I don't have Netflix anymore because I got sick of all of the shows that I followed and loved being butchered and killed off within it's first month being out.
Edit: Also, shout out to Lockwood & Co. That show was soooo good and should have gotten another season :(
my baby sitters a vampire only had like 20-30 episodes in its entire run..i was thinking of more the vampire diaries or Greys Anatomy that had mid season finales more and many filler episodes
for a bit over a year, most of the shows that I have been watching were korean shows. Most of them are 16 episodes, usually around one hour in length each. They are almost always standalone stories (in the sense that when the series ends after the 16th episode, there will not be any next season or whatever.
But anyway, the way that these shows are released is that they are released on two days in a row each week (for example Saturday and Sunday), and that is the way that they show up on steaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Viki, etc).
Right now, theres a show coming out called Beyond your Touch. It is my first time watching one of these shows live as they come out instead of doing the binging route, and honestly I kinda like it.
[somewhat off topic but not really, but I actually kinda miss the recaps that shows used to have at beginning of episodes (think Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl,etc)]
why did we as a society decide to leave behind the filler episode
I’m rooting for the writers & 15 episode seasons after the strike! I also think the creators need some type of “Guaranteed X amount of seasons” contract, to reduce early cancellations
I totally agree that a lot of the shows on the streaming services aren’t even good and yet I’m waiting years for an actually good show. 22 episodes feed my soul and the week by week approach is so much better in my opinion. Anyway love ya 😊
I appreciate network tv shows having episodes come out most weeks during the American school year. It gave and gives me something to look forward to during the week. Like new episodes of That’s So Raven, Suite Life, Hannah Montana on Friday nights in the early 2000s
two shows that were really good that I really loved and enjoyed, but was taken off of Netflix and left on a cliffhanger were Everything Sucks and I Am Not Okay With This. It really annoys me because those shows were so good😭😭. Not only that but they canceled and took off Everything Sucks for The Kissing Booth? What a waste of time and talent. may I say. justice for Everything Sucks and I Am Not Okay With This.
it's interesting also because i've seen so many people who are exhausted with the streaming model at this point. as viewers. and i completely agree because as the audience of these tv shows it's like... you have about 2 weeks after a show comes out to watch all of it because no one talks about it outside of that timeframe. it's just already irrelevant. in contrast, i've been watched star trek strange new worlds and it's still released weekly and it's . every week i watch the episode like a day after it comes out (personal schedule things) and then i have basically a whole week to talk about it with other fans of the show. it's a 10 episode season so the hype is basically like... 3 months long. and i don't have to stress myself out by watching a 10 hour long show the weekend it drops. i LOVE weekly releases. i think everything should be weekly releases.
I do see his point about binge watching but my first experience with binge watching was during Covid and we definitely had time during that to watch a 22 episode season of a show. Did it take longer than a day yes but there were several shows that had 22 hour long episodes in a season and really enjoyed them.
In the batch dropping section where you talk about how tuned in everyone was for euphoria, I think this is why anime is so successful. Barely any anime upload every episode unless it’s a Netflix original. I remember when attack on titans final season was coming out and kids on my bus or in class would all talk about what happened and their fan theories the entire week until the next episode. It was the highlight of hybrid school☺️
I also remember watching TVD with little breaks in between.. kinda weird, that it now feels like we have to wait for years
I think it all comes down to the differences in how the money is made.
For network and ad-revenue cable, it's about how many people watch the show. So you need more episodes to reinforce the habit of watching so the ratings stay high and the ad rates stay high.
For streaming and ad-free cable, it's about attracting and holding on to subscribers regardless of how much they actually watch. So you need shows that create buzz and attract new subscribers, and then you need to keep teasing those subscribers with anticipation about upcoming shows/seasons so they stay subscribed.
This is why we see (1) splashy shows/films with big names and buzzy concepts and (2) long breaks between seasons. Even if your favorite show isn't going to release a new season for months or years, the streaming service is still making money as long as you don't cancel your subscription.
I like to feel like my comment on your last Hollywood strike video might've played a part in this video being made. It needed a deep dive cause this phenomenon is only growing.
The reference to My Babysitter’s a Vampire was ICONIC.
When he said mid season finale, my babysitters a vampire was legit my first thought
As someone who grew up watching a lot of British TV so seeing shows getting condensed to “tighter” seasons was in hopes of making “better” shows. And at first, we did. Sadly it seems that the management is too busy trying to “optimize” the content instead of leveraging it to make more diverse stories accessible.
The other sad side effect of the binge effect ruins becoming apart of the culture. If there’s a season drop it lingers for a month maybe two. While on an episodic release, it doesn’t get to build up into the zeitgeist (outside of critic acclaim and the ones who initially watched it).
the Hollywood industry just keeps getting worse and worse 😢
I've purposely went back to watching older shows that are already finished since they were on cable. i like the longer episode count and I know that I won't be left with a random cliff hanger that was meant to continue the next season. my parents make fun of me since I don't really watch anything new
tvd is back on netflix in germany right now and I got SO nostalgic because of the 22 episode seasons. God I miss the filler episodes that were there just for the characters to do shit
Not done the video so this may be brought up, but i also think its significant that so many shows on streaming platforms are approved for a first season eithout a pilot, whereas shows used to write a pilot to show networks to get picked up. This leads to greater budgets for the 1st episode(and season), but it also means that things are more likely to get cut after 1 season and that they wouldnt approve longer seasons to begin with!
I really like 22 episodes seasons because I get more ship’s relationships romantic or platonic and get to see more of my favorite characters
(And I also have a problem with watching a lot of shows so I have the time like I watched the whole show of the rookie in a week)
I re-watch Supernatural every year, and I have ADHD, you're right about shows like said creating a cult like fanbase because of the distribution of production. I really appreciated the show more because of it.
The last on tv show that I’ve watched was The flash (finished in may). Yes, the writing wasn’t good by the end but I religiously watched that show every single week for years. And they were also very guilty of the dramatic mid season finale. Honestly though now there just hasn’t been anything new that I’m excited to watch that’s NOT on a streaming service and that’s not only 10 episodes or less. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion but I prefer the weekly episodes and I miss the super long seasons. That being said I do appreciate Apple TV for example for not putting all their episodes out at once for shows like The Crowded Room and Hijack, it’s been fun to actually wait for new weekly episodes again
I FELT IT WHEN U WAS TALKING AB MY BABYSISTER IS A VAMPIRE
The original gossip girl gave us a full season with mostly 20+ episodes over a school year and took a 3 months break. The reboot gave us like 12 and took a year break
As far back as I can remember (so the early 2000’s lmao) anime were very commonly released with 8-12 episodes. And some of those shows were life changing for me I mean they were amazing watches. So I get everything you said and I actually agree but I can’t help but point out we already had shows running for this short time period AND huge gaps between releases because if you’re waiting on an anime my god you’ll be waiting a long time
Bro this! I watched that 90s show on Netflix and really enjoyed it but my biggest problem was that there were 10 episodes that were ~22 minutes each... for a sitcom! The 2nd season is said to have 16 when it comes out but let's be real that's still not enough. Then, I realized this trend myself and check a bunch of random netflix shows' episode amounts and it ranged from 6-12, like why?
It's the attention span for me, I used to say that I missed multiple seasons 20+ episodes shows but then I rewatched a bit on one tree hill and Dawson's creek and I said nah in 2023 we wouldn't be able to follow through shows like that anymore. filler episodes after filler episodes, the plot going nowhere for multiple episodes straight. We are now used to 10 episodes condensed of content, idk if we can go back to how it was
I, like most people have stopped watching cable TV but I feel like TH-cam -shows have become the new cable TV for me although you might have to wait a bit longer for a new episode to drop. With Disadventure camp and Wingfeather saga you wait one or two weeks (although the Wingfeather saga is in a bit of a hiatus when it comes to new episodes since they are working on season 2) and with murder drones you get one episode every two months or so but, it’s worth the wait, all of these shows are pretty damn good
For real? My fav shows are Friends, Glee, Modern Family, How I met your mother and skins, exactly because the seasons are big and there are many seasons! I love disney channel and nickelodeon having those 25 episode seasons because I accompanied the characters, their growth, their ups and downs navigating either that year in high school or in life, that is the best part. How do you really know 5 characters or more in 8 episodes? All shows now seem so rushed and I get that it’s because our gen is very anxious and accustomed to short form content but Idk, I'm 20 and I still love long shows and long youtube videos and don't really love tiktok, only see some instagram reels 🤷🏽♀️ And I'm an actress in the making and I just wish we could have shows like Friends and Glee that made people fan over the characters for years on end and people still love them and accompany the actors to this day. That is my dream, getting that back and being in one, as an actress ❤
5:51 don't forget abbott elementary! it made me stressed waiting for the show to come back 😭
as someone who still keeps up with Disney channel…it’s not like a thing of the past. their seasons are still getting plenty of episodes. but we have reached a point where most of them are released on D+ before the channel as a ‘batch-drop’.
I have been returning to watching old longer shows tbh or barely watching shows at all and sitting on TH-cam. I'm just done with the current format and seeing al the lost potential I think or being disappointed when a good show I'm invested in gets cancelled. At least with old shows that have already finished, you know what you'll get, but I'll run out of that soon too I think lol
I think we can get used to longer shows again and train our attention spans back to what it was if we want, and I think the week by week released hype format you mentioned will help make that easier
Thank you for standing with actors and writers with your content! 🥰
Enjoyed ur video!
Keep up the good commentary :)
You triggered me with my babysitter's a vampire, I'll probably never get over what they did😭
If the show is dead-on in its content, and has everything going well for it, and is something I can truly get behind (like Emergency! was in the 70s, that NBC medical/action series then about firefighters, paramedics and doctors in L.A. County; I've enjoyed that very much on DVD, and still do and still will), I'll blow through a season like that; quite a few shows on DVD have been like that for me (many others, however, have not been as good as that to me).
Literally me with The Witcher.
I don't mind 22 episodes per season, I am someone who still prefers network comedies and love it when they do longer seasons, but for dramas I would say 10-15 is better, or actually splitting the story to have the mid season finale serve as break point, one of my favorite shows Agents of Shield, perfected that formula and managed to have 22 episodes broken into smaller stories that it didn't feel meandering. But also, what's so bad about a procedural show with baddie of the week style episodes or shows having the random filler episodes, it works for anime! I think the streaming services tried to please the people with low attention span and just throw things at them to consume, but it makes their shows so forgettable and struggle to stand out.
Right? I remember growing up with 20+ episode shows and now it's like 8 episodes average, a little more or less😅
Also All American with its mid season break used to piss me off . Like damn 😭😭😭
i just had a thought. do you think streaming services stretch out time in between seasons to keep us subscribed for longer?
also: zeus does weekly episode drops and i feel like that’s caused a lot of popularity especially with baddies
Very good information. I appreciate the incite.
I feel like Sherlock changed everything when it came out. People realize you could have a good show with very few episodes and that the Watchers we keep coming back even though it took years in between. Now every show thinks it's Sherlock and can get away with it but they can't a lot of times.
I grew up when TV shows were 22 episodes regardless if they were an hour long or 30 minutes, this is why I want to write for TV and movies. Today I think a 22-episode is a bit long for this fast-moving society today. I think a 15-episode TV season is a bit reasonable no matter if it's streaming and/or broadcasting.