Current Events > The streaming model has ruined television.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I desperately miss the late network TV era from the mid 00s to the early/mid 10s.

Decent budgets, good episode counts, actual watercooler shows, and (most important of all) CONSISTENT PRODUCTION SCHEDULES

Budgets have grown, episode counts shrink, a lot of shows are scattered across a dozen streaming platforms, and we'll get one season every few years which just kills any long term excitement for a show

Plus sitcoms are dying off which fucking blows.

Give me 24 episodes of uh... 24 once a year instead of 8 episodes of Ahsoka fucking 3 years later.

Seriously, I'm watching things like the new Tim Allen show because its legit the only thing on TV at the moment that's new at the point of time.

And yah, this really does not work well for sitcoms.

Season gaps are brutal. But theres so much fucking content now that I find it incredibly easy to find new shows that are amazing. Over my Xmas break I binged Silo. Next week Severence comes out. Just finished Dune Prophecy and before that Penguin.

Still, it sucks how long Ill have to wait for more seasons.

Necronmon posted...

Seriously, I'm watching things like the new Tim Allen show because its legit the only thing on TV at the moment that's new at the point of time.

And yah, this really does not work well for sitcoms.

Any classic sitcom (Friends, Seinfeld, HIMYM, The Office) would have no chance in hell in today's television environment.

I still maintain that How I Met Your Father and That 90s Show had the potential to be great but they weren't given enough of a chance. Sitcoms are inherently character-focused, and you need time to figure out the characters and write around the actor's chemistries.

I plan on watching the new Suits show next month. Hope it's good.

I dunno, I kinda like getting seasons all at once over a few months instead of having something start in september and not end the season until the next may or june or whatever.

but I haven't watched anything new on broadcast in years now.

8 episode seasons, where it takes 2~3 years for each season to be made. Or it just gets cancelled outright after a single season.

And the seasons are usually just one long story, not episodic in nature, so it feels like you're just watching a really long split up movie. No "filler" episodes or time to flesh out characters in different situations. Shit sucks.

I agree that the disparity on length between seasons sucks. However, I like the shorter seasons.

20+ episodes of a 40 minute show is hard to get through in the current day. Especially when there is filler. A lot of shows back then we're guilty of this and if they cut the shows down to be shorter and more concise, it would have done them plenty of favours.

I'm watching Twin Peaks at the moment, halfway through season 1. I then looked at how many episodes for the rest of the seasons. It's almost turned me off it.

I want to and probably will continue it at some point, but ugh!

I'm still a cable subscriber and I can feel the impact. Roughly 15 to 20 years ago that was when "expanded cable" was hitting its prime. I watched a lot of those 1 hour shows that weren't on ABC, CBS, or NBC.

I was watching a lot of stuff on FX and even Fox had some good shows. I was getting stuff like House, Bones, The Shield, Rescue Me. All kinds of great 1 hour programs that as you said had quite a few episodes and were on year after year on a schedule.

Now the majority of my tv watching outside sports and movies is simply reruns of old shows I grew up on and what I admit is low level garbage tv. Stuff like Below Deck, 90 Day Fiance type stuff. Again i admit its trash tv but I watch. *shrug*

Other than that I pad out my watching with documentaries on history channel and discovery, animal planet, national geographic. Then of course for 40 years I have enjoyed HBO original series programming but the schedule is erratic and the seasons aren't that long but some of the shows are great.

So yeah I can't disagree.

Rharyx211 posted...

8 episode seasons, where it takes 2~3 years for each season to be made. Or it just gets cancelled outright after a single season.

And the seasons are usually just one long story, not episodic in nature, so it feels like you're just watching a really long split up movie. No "filler" episodes or time to flesh out characters in different situations. Shit sucks.

this kills me

Breaking Bad, 24, LOST, Dexter, The Wire are all excellent shows that come to mind that have a greater overarching story but are still, ultimately television and each episode is still broadly enjoyable and has proper structure.

Compare to modern series which at times feel like a movie but stretched out over several hours. No episode has a proper sense of build up or resolution. The Marvel and Star Wars series are especially guilty of this but it's a problem everywhere.

And the seasons are usually just one long story, not episodic in nature, so it feels like you're just watching a really long split up movie. No "filler" episodes or time to flesh out characters in different situations. s*** sucks.

Seriously, its fine with like, the Peguin but I liked " filler" episodes that allowed the side cast to have a moment to shine and that just does not exist...you compare how much the side cast did stuff in older Star Trek shows and then see Star Trek Discovery and how few of the cast matter and its night and day.

And yah even the better" Sitcoms" like Ted Lasso suffer form this since its still mostly plot focused so no real time to give the side cast to much to do on there own...everything's feeling like its just longer movies now.

NintendoFan81 posted...

There's plenty of so called "water cooler" shows still. Sounds like you either don't watch them or are just overreacting.

Theres just so many of them you get anxiety paralysis. Ive spent hours just browsing what show to watch next and just end up falling asleep

Seriously the best parts of a show are when the showrunners needs filler.

Because you can use that filler time to just toss your characters into fun or weird situations or have them interact with each other in ways that flesh them out.

One of the best episodes of LOST was literally a filler episode where one character finds an abandoned van in the middle of the jungle and corrals several other unrelated characters to help him restore it.

It has no real effect on the plot but it helps further his development and expands on the characters who help him

Theres just so many of them you get anxiety paralysis. Ive spent hours just browsing what show to watch next and just end up falling asleep

Not everyone has every streaming service...and if someone only is watching what's on mainstream TV its a graveyard...and even if you just have Netflix its not to much when things like Squid Games and Stranger Things take forever to come back.

JuanCarlos1 posted...

Theres just so many of them you get anxiety paralysis. Ive spent hours just browsing what show to watch next and just end up falling asleep

There's also enough "streaming bubbles" that any watercooler show would never really hit the sort of cultural saturation that any previous show would

There's also enough "streaming bubbles" that any watercooler show would never really hit the sort of cultural saturation that any previous show would

Its why Witcher, Wheel of Time, and the Lord of the Rings show all have got only a fraction of the attention Game of Thrones got, regardless of the quality of those shows.

It's also interesting to me that streaming services are going to probably bottleneck themselves at some point when it comes to "binge" shows.

Like I think about a lot of shows that are binge shows (Friends, New Girl, HIMYM, The Office all come to mind). Streaming companies like Netflix like these sorts of shows because they're quality but they can dump them on their service and people will binge the hell out of them.

The issue is that they're not making... new shows people can really "binge".

Necronmon posted...

Its why Witcher, Wheel of Time, and the Lord of the Rings show all have got only a fraction of the attention Game of Thrones got, regardless of the quality of those shows.

Those shows also are fall into the same "movie stretched out over a dozen hours" trap I mentioned.

They're just one long story cut up into a handful of episodes so it's a SLOG to get through any of them

Doom_Art posted...

The issue is that they're not making... new shows people can really "binge".

Binging is still possible you just have to wait for the season to end

boomgetchopped3 posted...

Binging is still possible you just have to wait for the season to end

You know what I mean though.

Those are shows with hefty episode counts that are largely episodic so they can be binged pretty effectively for a good amount of time.

No new show will ever get to that level

Fully agree. Take me back to when a season finale aired in May and the season premiere aired that following September.

Not a 6 episode season, then the next season 3 years later.

Ivynn posted...

Fully agree. Take me back to when a season finale aired in May and the season premiere aired that following September.

Not a 6 episode season, then the next season 3 years later.

Especially because they end seasons on a cliffhanger

which is fine but like okay guys please don't expect me to give a fuck about what happens to Ahsoka and shit when I gotta wait 3 or 4 years.

Meh. Just watch what you like. If theres nothing current, rewatch an old favorite.

I will give you that its annoying that there can be multiple years between seasons of a show though.

Doom_Art posted...

Any classic sitcom (Friends, Seinfeld, HIMYM, The Office) would have no chance in hell in today's television environment.

I still maintain that How I Met Your Father and That 90s Show had the potential to be great but they weren't given enough of a chance. Sitcoms are inherently character-focused, and you need time to figure out the characters and write around the actor's chemistries.

agreed. like yea HIMYF starts off slow but how many 1st seasons of shows aren't slow? you have to build the story and the characters. definitely felt season 2 was a step up and then it's just canceled. that 90s show i enjoyed a lot more than i thought i would but again canceled. so many streaming shows get cancelled way too fast with no ending.

also the problem is just how many streaming services are out now. plus you still have cable exclusive shows so unless you're paying like $200+ a month you're not gonna have access to everything.

It's funny that even South Park, a show famous for being able to produce an entire episode in a single week, is only hitting 6 episodes a season now. And they didn't do anything outside of one special for all of 2024.

Lots of hit shows are still yearly

maybe the pendulum has swung too far towards the other side(tight seasons with long waits between each, no filler etc.) but i still think it's a much, much, much better choice than how it used to be with standard 24 episode seasons.

"omg what a cliffhanger ending, i can't wait till next week and see what happens...

>flashback filler episode"

also, there's a reason why most older shows had bad or subpar endings that almost always left audiences more disappointed than satisfied. having a good idea of a beginning, middle and end for a show doesn't work when you're forced to stretch out shows with episodes or annual seasons because of the money making potential.

~Streaming model killed the televised star~

Doom_Art posted...

Any classic sitcom (Friends, Seinfeld, HIMYM, The Office) would have no chance in hell in today's television environment.

I still maintain that How I Met Your Father and That 90s Show had the potential to be great but they weren't given enough of a chance. Sitcoms are inherently character-focused, and you need time to figure out the characters and write around the actor's chemistries.

That 90s Show was canceled? Wtf?!

I see the pros and cons, but I overall like the new model better.

I feel people are putting their money more where they want it.

Outside of soap opera, British TV has always been like that: 2 years to make 6 episodes.

The only difference with streaming is getting them all at once.

Regarding the shorter seasons I remember a time when all people complained about was that shows had too much filler and they should be cut down to fewer episodes.

The wait is definitely the worst part, though I wouldn't mind some of the bigger IPs doing more monster of the week type shows.

Rharyx211 posted...

8 episode seasons, where it takes 2~3 years for each season to be made. Or it just gets cancelled outright after a single season.

And the seasons are usually just one long story, not episodic in nature, so it feels like you're just watching a really long split up movie. No "filler" episodes or time to flesh out characters in different situations. Shit sucks.

Back in the day if a story couldn't be told in one episode you'd get "To be continued" at the end. It always annoyed me having to wait another week to see what happens. Now that's just the default.

I hardly ever watch shows anymore, but if I do I make sure the whole season is available so I can binge it and not have to wait week after week to get the whole story.

i would say it has its ups and downs...

the good side is that you can choose what you want to watch when you want to instead of being conditioned by schedules when you tune into a TV channel.

the downside is that you have a plethora of options when it comes to services (Netflix, Max, Disney Plus, Prime Video, etc.) and content that it can be overwhelming to choose from. plus the long periods between seasons nowadays.

PrideOfLion posted...

I feel for you but I honestly feel most television has been mediocre with only a few things worth it

This is what I feel too with the TV shows in my country. Nowadays I only watch comedy shows/travel shows/food review shows because that's the only good things left on TV here, and even then for the comedy shows it's all only on one channel (not like I mind, makes it easier for me since I don't have to change channel lol).

Everything else are garbage. Heck, TV channels here used to have plenty of sunday morning shows across multiple channels, now there's practically only one sunday morning show left on one channel.

rexcrk posted...

Meh. Just watch what you like. If theres nothing current, rewatch an old favorite.

This. If there's not a current season for something than go back and rewatch something or better yet, watch something older you never saw before. You're never going to run out of things to watch and just because something is old doesn't mean it can't be good and thanks to streaming/digital there's shows going back decades. I bought the original Dallas on Apple a few weeks ago for $15 and it's 356 episodes. I've never seen the show but am aware of some of the major plots and still having a great time watching it in between the newer stuff I'm also watching.

Necronmon posted...

And yah even the better" Sitcoms" like Ted Lasso suffer form this since its still mostly plot focused so no real time to give the side cast to much to do on there own...everything's feeling like its just longer movies now.

"Beard After Hours" is one of my favorite episodes specifically because it gives a quirky side character a chance to do his own thing, and yet I reasonably assume it's one of those episodes that most people hate because it doesn't "move the plot forward."

masterpug53 posted...

"Beard After Hours" is one of my favorite episodes specifically because it gives a quirky side character a chance to do his own thing, and yet I reasonably assume it's one of those episodes that most people hate because it doesn't "move the plot forward."

Plot heads are the worst. Zithers may have been annoying with his "movies are dying" BS topics, but he did teach me about how annoying other people are who only focus on plot.

__aCEr__ posted...

It's funny that even South Park, a show famous for being able to produce an entire episode in a single week, is only hitting 6 episodes a season now. And they didn't do anything outside of one special for all of 2024.

that's cuz of the deal they made with Paramount to make a bunch of specials.

Doom_Art posted...

Seriously the best parts of a show are when the showrunners needs filler.

Because you can use that filler time to just toss your characters into fun or weird situations or have them interact with each other in ways that flesh them out.

One of the best episodes of LOST was literally a filler episode where one character finds an abandoned van in the middle of the jungle and corrals several other unrelated characters to help him restore it.

It has no real effect on the plot but it helps further his development and expands on the characters who help him

Yeah, we used to bitch about fillers but fillers can really add good background to the world

Every major streaming platform should adopt the Pluto TV model. It's the only thing Paramount/CBS has done right. Introduce a 100% free, ad-supported app that shows a large amount of their content via streaming "channels" reminiscent of cable, and then market their subscription-supported apps as the best way to view all the content on-demand and catch up with big exclusive shows and movies.

If every platform did this it would at least generate more awareness and engagement with their content libraries. A big problem is that there's so much content and so many options but no platforms make an earnest attempt at promoting it.

bsp77 posted...

Plot heads are the worst. Zithers may have been annoying with his "movies are dying" BS topics, but he did teach me about how annoying other people are who only focus on plot.

The more time goes on, the more I see such people as the types who don't blink when using 'content' to describe movies and television, and are just out to consume the greatest numerical quantity of media they can so that they can rack up points on a personal scorecard; as such, they want the media they consume to be as streamlined as possible, and view anything that 'slows down' the process of reaching the goal-line of a movie / tv season's ending to be worthless.