discussion I miss the 22 episode format for TV shows too many shows feel like a long movie

[ProudLBS]

1 hour ago, AbeHicks said:

Imagine if Desperate Housewives only had 6 episodes per season It wouldn't be half as iconic as it is today.

True, but DH had waaaaaaay too much filler. S2 in particular is painful to watch 

 

Despite the meh mystery, S4 is one of the best seasons because the writers didn’t have to stuff it with as much filler as the other seasons.

[AmyXTS]

I completely disagree, the quality severely dips and things are dragged out and become stale. British shows have always been shorter and are usually written / created by the same person so the quality stays the same instead of an army of writers churning out crap to hit the number of episodes. When lost had a short season the quality was far superior 

[cypriotpcdfan]

I totally agree. You can't get very emotionally attached to TV shows or characters for binge shows. Its one thing to finish a season in 3 days and its another for a season to take you on a journey for 5-6 months, while you are waitinh for an episode every week. I remember back when I was watching LOST, it was such an EXPERIENCE.

 

I miss that feeling.

[NausAllien]

As someone who grew up watching those 22-episode shows, 1 episode a week, with huge breaks every 6-9 episodes, I CANNOT go back. I really love the new, more serialized format. I love watching a season from start to finish as if it were a long movie. Not to mention the amount of filler those series would have. Now series are as long as they need to be (6, 7, 8, 10, 12 episodes) rather than an arbitrary number determined by the networks.

[toy soldier.]

I miss when it was an event, like realising episodes weekly instead of binge watching them. It creates a sort of excitement. This is why i am really liking The Boys on prime

[Jagger]

13-16 is ideal 

 

These shows with 8 episodes a season are really insulting and rushed imo but everyone is braindead these days so what can you really expect ¯\_(ツ)_/ people don't have the range anymore  

[Fitzswiftie]

5 hours ago, Beyonnaise said:

And I love the Elizabeth Holmes/Theranos case but The Dropout on Hulu was so overly long and could have honestly been 2-3 episodes.

The first three episodes giving the backstory before the set the company felt like the opening 15 minutes of a movie.

[davorincek]

I dissagree. I prefer 10-13 episodes max. I couldnt watch some of the older series because the idea of 23 episodes per season turns me off so much. 

[Topaz]

That happened  to like 1 or 2 season with the 100 and I got really annoyed. Its easier to do that with anime's

[ConceptD]

It’s pretty much impossible to make a season consistently good when there are 22 episodes. I don’t like the new format of under 10 episodes, because it’s not enough, but there should be a middle ground. Then again even at 16 episodes the walking dead has a lot of filler, so maybe 13 is the perfect balance. 

[rzal]

Hell no, I don't have time for that. A few years ago I watched all episodes of Supernatural (back then it was 7 seasons) and it took me 2 months of watching a few episodes a day. 

2 hours ago, Rev8 said:

Plsss

Im annoyed that episodes are a shorter movie

45 minutes? Ion have time for that

give me something like 30-35 at least......

30-45 minutes is actually perfect. 60+ minutes episodes are a nightmare. I'm watching The Boys right now and I feel like easily 20 minutes could be cut from every episode. 

[Buffy]

20 minutes ago, rzal said:

30-45 minutes is actually perfect. 60+ minutes episodes are a nightmare. I'm watching The Boys right now and I feel like easily 20 minutes could be cut from every episode. 

We would all feel the same about 20 minutes being cut even if they were to change it to 30-45 minutes.  They’ll try to fill in the time with useless scenes and leave things on a cliffhanger per usual. 

[Raptus]

7 hours ago, Johnny Jacobs said:

You watch those poor 8 episodes in a day or two only to wait a year for more and you already forget what happen. 

8 episodes in a day? I thought only incels live like this

[東京.]

It’s one thing I actually hated about American TV shows tbh. 10-14 episodes I find is ideal. It makes everything neat and concise, and you don’t end up with a ton of pointless filler episodes that are just waffle and serve nothing to the actual story 

[Khal]

Disagree. A competent writer should be able to tell their story in 8-13 episodes. I get the 22 episode format for sitcoms or basic "case of the week" procedural shows, but for shows that have an overreaching plot for the season, 8-13 episodes is enough.

 

I was watching Fringe and X-files over the pandemic and it's embarrassing how many episodes in a 22-25 episode season are clearly filler just to meet the 22 episode count. Today those shows would have had 13 episodes max and they'd have been so much better.

[raven]

I think 12-15 episodes are a good amount. 

 

The new QAF annoyed me with their 8 episode season - as soon as I started to develop interest in the characters/storyline, it ended 

Edited June 19, 2022 by raven

[Starkboy]

I think streaming platforms make show shorter on purpose, cause nobody has the time to stream tons of show each having 22 episodes for season. 

 

Honestly as long as a series has more seasons and you dont have to wait years for them, the short one works fine. 

[schnetzka]

My problem with current day shows is the amount of episodes (8 is hardly enough), the long gap in seasons (ala Stranger Things taking three years to release a season), and shows not having many seasons. I don't necessarily need 120+ episodes of a show but Love, Victor for example only had 28 which is practically nothing.

 

[Johnny Jacobs]

30 minutes ago, Raptus said:

8 episodes in a day? I thought only incels live like this

A day or two yes depends how much I'm liking it. 

What's the problem?

 

Funny how people who call people incels are mostly just that. 

[Eóghan]

No.

 

22 episodes , with 10 filler episodes. That's how TV used to work because they needed to fill as many slots as possible.

I'm glad network tv is dying, so we don't to put up with fillers.

 

Thanks to streaming, it's straight to the point, they just tell the story they want to tell and that's it.

[dussymob]

No I hate filler. Tell the damn story and leave it at that. 

[Guest]

Nah, 22 only works if it is an slice of life or something similar, I don't think most shows need that many episodes, it just creates pointless filler

[Khal]

8 hours ago, fridayteenage said:

911: mostly 18 episodes

911LS: 18 episode most recent season

Resident: mostly 20+ episodes

Prodigal Son: 20 episode S1

Empire: mostly 18 episodes

 

idk sis, Fox is still good with long seasons for dramas.

3 out of the 5 shows you listed are basic procedurals which I already mentioned. Empire had many filler eps, idk what a Prodigal Son is. 

[luanziie]

I wish heartstopper had 13 episodes

Edited June 20, 2022 by luanziie

[harwee]

I agree. Shows now moves too fast with no character development, and then by the end of the season you don't really care or invested on the characters. You're not sure if you saw a long movie or a series. I hope they return to those 16 to 22 episodes, and spread the release across a few weeks.