There is an epidemic spreading in modern television: seasons are getting shorter, and the time between seasons is getting longer. Twenty years ago, shows like The Office and Lost aired 20 plus episode seasons each year; now, audiences are lucky to get more than eight episodes per season, and shows often take multi-year breaks between seasons. Much of this change is due to streaming platforms, which have replaced cable television and introduced new models of production and release.
No more short cable blocks.
When television was primarily watched through cable TV, they might have had only a 30-45-minute block, meaning they had to shorten their episodes to fit this constraint. These shorter, more condensed episodes meant shows needed more episodes to complete their stories. Now that streaming is the primary medium, TV shows no longer have constraints on how long their episodes can be, leading to 60-90-minute episodes. An outlier of this trend is Stranger Things, whose season four finale clocked in at two hours and 30 minutes.
Syndication is no longer needed.
In cable TV, syndication means leasing out the broadcasting rights of a show to multiple stations and networks, often in the form of reruns, rather than just the network that originally aired it. This allows the show to earn ongoing revenue while local stations fill their schedules with other popular programs. The cutoff for shows to get syndication was 100 episodes, meaning that for a show to become successful financially, it was imperative that it hit this mark. This gave networks an incentive to flesh out their stories as much as possible with filler and bloated storylines. Now, in the current streaming era, there is no longer any financial incentive for high-episode shows.
TV production values and show budgets have increased.
In recent years, due to intense competition from “streaming wars,” the production values and budgets of shows have increased. It is becoming increasingly common for shows to produce cinematic-level shows, which makes 20 plus episode seasons less sustainable. Also, as A-list talent going into TV becomes more common, short seasons are necessary both to be able to afford these actors and so that they don’t impede on the actors’ availability for movies. “I prefer shorter seasons because of the higher budget, movie-like quality and there are no filler episodes, “ sophomore AJ Kessler said.
Popularity of the streaming “binge” model.
Another reason for the shorter seasons is the rise of the streaming binge model. In the cable TV era, shows were released weekly over months, allowing networks to fill large parts of their schedules. In streaming, however, it is common for shows to release entire seasons at once. This method, known as the binge drop, was popularized by Netflix with original shows like House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and Stranger Things being the most prominent shows to release entire seasons at once. While binging 20 plus episodes is possible, for most TV watchers it is not feasible, and a short six to 10 episode season is much more digestible.
Overall, this new era of TV has produced benefits to audiences. For starters, with the increased budgets, the production levels of TV have skyrocketed, and now cinematic-level television, something unheard of 30 plus years ago, is standard for streaming shows. This has helped bridge the divide between movies and television to where they are now both just seen as equal forms of entertainment. More A-list movie stars are diving into the world of television, such as Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson in True Detective, or more recently, Harrison Ford in Shrinking. “I like shorter series with longer episodes because those shows become more of an event and it is a lot more memorable,“ Spanish teacher Elsa Schoberg said
There have also been downsides. Audiences get fewer of their favorite shows to watch, and with the quick binge drops, shows don’t have enough time to convince audiences to tune in, which leads to early cancellations for shows. Also, with the increased budgets, wait times between seasons can be years. There have been shows to prove that the old style of TV is still feasible. Shows like Abbot Elementary and The Pitt have been able to release 15 plus episodes yearly while still engaging audiences with a week-to-week release schedule. While the production value of these shows isn’t as high as some of the high-budget shows, they have proven that in the changing world of entertainment, you can still captivate audiences without condensed short storylines. “I like long TV shows because you can get really immersed in one storyline over a long period of time without having to find a new show, “ junior Adam Idrissa said.
