What happened to long seasons of TV?

Photo Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly

Shorter television seasons have become increasingly common in today’s streaming world. There used to be more than 20 episodes per season, but over the past few years, many only have half of that. With shorter seasons, there is less time for character development and world-building. Filler episodes are no longer necessary, and while that might be good for the plot, it also prevents us from learning more about the characters.

With streaming services becoming more and more popular, the budgets for these shows seem to prioritize quality over quantity. Without filler episodes, viewers are left to imagine what the characters are like outside of the show. Filler episodes used to provide viewers with insight into secondary characters, or even more knowledge of who the main characters are. 

An example of this is the Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” The show has never exceeded nine episodes; however, it does a great job of letting us into the plot and growing it over time. The downside to this is that we never see the kids doing kid things or the teens being teens. There is never a break from the world of monsters that lasts for more than a few minutes. 

Some well-known actors favor shorter seasons, as it gives them more time to pursue other projects. For example, Viola Davis from “How to Get Away with Murder” would only sign on if they kept the show at 15 episodes instead of ABC’s normal 22-episode order. 

Our society has dived deep into the art of binging a television series. With shorter seasons, there is more appeal to binging a show. For example, “Stranger Things” would be completely different if it had around 20 episodes. Yes, we would get to see more of the characters but it would be harder to watch all of them in a 24-hour time period. Spoiler alerts on social media become more frequent during the release of big shows like this, and shorter episodes can help remedy that. Keeping with the “Stranger Things” example, some of their episodes last around an hour. This is completely different when there are more than 15 episodes per season as each one lasts around 30 to 40 minutes. 

ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” plans to have 22 episodes in its third season. This is the most the series has done, and the fans seem to be excited for a longer season. This series says that it was not influenced by the many calls to give the show a full order. 

A problem for cable TV with this trend of a lower number of episodes per seasons is syndication. Syndication is when a TV series begins to air reruns. The series has to either have entered their fourth season or have around 80 to 100 episodes. It is more difficult to get to this point if there are no longer 20+ episodes per season. The process of syndication is likely to be in trouble as more and more shows are deciding to focus more on the plot and less on filler. Streaming services have also affected the syndication model, as they do not care how many episodes a show has as long as they have content to put onto their sites. 

While each viewer has different opinions on this change in the world of television, it seems to be sticking around. I do not believe there will be much of a change in episode orders anytime soon. 

Until then, you have free range on streaming services to watch whatever show you want with episode numbers ranging from eight to 21.