Is the Streaming Model of Shorter Series Runs Good for Sci Fi TV?

The scripted series on the major streaming services have become known for big-dollar budgets and cinematic productions such as Stranger Things (Netflix), The Man in the High Castle (Amazon), and The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu). Even their less high-profile shows such as Dark (Netflix), Upload (Amazon), and Future Man (Hulu) tend to have enviable production values that make them more of an experience than the average show on the broadcast networks and cable channels. But the streamers also have a tendency to produce shorter seasons (usually eight to ten episodes) and they also tend to cap off their shows by the third or fourth season (with the exception of their earliest originals, most of which have ended). And while they have had success with their scripted series, the question to ask is whether their model for producing originals with short runs can remain viable for the long run and keep viewers tuning back in.

The broadcast networks set the standard over half a century back of multi-season runs going for at least eighty to a hundred total episodes as the measure of success for a series. This would allow the show to go into encore viewings in syndication where it would continue to generate revenue and also continue to find new viewers. But the complaint about shows lasting that long (or even longer), especially in the current environment where story arcs are expected from sci fi entries, is that they often feel padded out. Many have clamored for shorter, tighter runs that ultimately wrap up the show’s storylines.

The streaming services are definitely going for the shorter runs, but are they going too far to the other extreme?

We know the most about the Netflix model, and the other two major streaming services seem to be following that to some degree. Netflix is cranking out a large number of original shows (with quite a number of genre entries) in order to drive new subscribers to the service. These shows are produced on a cost-plus basis, meaning that Netflix pays more for the show each season it returns. However, the audience typically slips for a show each year (a standard trend across all platforms), and to make matters worse, Netflix does little to promote its own originals. So around the third season of a show (sometimes sooner, sometimes later), the cost vs. the declining new subscriptions for a show makes it no longer financially attractive to the network. The streamer also has a lock on the rights of most of its originals, so they can’t easily move to another venue if cancelled.

This has led to many shows on Netflix ending by their third or fourth season or possibly before. Some get a final season announcement (The Dark, Lost in Space, Rain) which allows them to wrap up their storylines. Some are cancelled before getting the chance to resolve story arcs (The OA, Sense8), leaving fans hanging. In either case, four seasons appears to be the most that can be expected from Netflix shows these days (high profile series Stranger Things is headed into its fourth and likely final season, Black Mirror has had three seasons produced by Netflix so far with the first two airing on Channel 4 in Britain).

Amazon and Hulu, the other two among the Big 3 streaming services, have tended to follow a similar path as Netflix, though with less of a fire-hose approaching to releasing new shows. Amazon’s acclaimed The Man in the High Castle ran for four seasons even though the original plan had it going for at least five. Hulu’s award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale is heading into its fourth season, and the creative team has plans for several more seasons beyond that. Whether it will continue that long remains to be seen as neither of these streamers has had a genre show go past the fourth season mark (in fact, only a few of their originals have lasted beyond that point).

For the other streaming services, it is hard to gauge at this point because they are still relatively new. Star Trek: Discovery is heading into its third season on CBS All Access, but with multiple other Trek shows in the works, it is uncertain if that one will continue to a fourth year or more. Titans is heading into its third season on DCU, but that streamer may not be around much longer, so the fate of that show is uncertain (consider it a good bet to shift to HBO Max). The Mandalorian has been a hit for Disney+, but it is expensive to produce (as are all of these shows), so it is uncertain whether it can remain financially viable for a multi-year run.

Shows lasting for three or four years and producing twenty-four to forty episodes is similar to the model that European (especially British) television productions follow. And in some cases, that can produce a satisfying run. But some shows are built for a longer run (the creative team for Netflix’s The Witcher has many seasons planned), and cutting them off at the third for fourth season mark (or sooner) can be disappointing to the viewers (Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle definitely had another season’s worth of story left in it). Ultimately, people may become frustrated with the streamers and choose not to invest their time in new originals because they know the shows will end all too soon.

There was a time when the streaming services were seen as the saviors of TV shows mercilessly cancelled by the broadcast networks and cable channels. And there have been some notable instances of shows making the leap to the digital platforms such as The Expanse, Lucifer, and non-genre entry Arrested Development. But with only a short-term commitment, this just delays the eventual cancellation of these shows. And with the streamers apparently unwilling to keep even their own productions going longer than three or four seasons, only so much can be expected from these shows.

There are definitely some cases where a shorter run works perfectly well for a series, i.e., Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events covered all of the books across its three seasons. And a fourth season of Stranger Things seems like a good point to wrap that one up.  But there is also plenty of justification to keep some shows going for longer runs: fans will be unhappy if The Expanse ends with its fifth season (second on Amazon) or if The Witcher caps off around its third year. So the streamers need to learn the lessons that the linear networks have ignored and pay attention to what the audience wants, otherwise people will start tuning out if they feel like the shows are ending far too soon.

Do you think shorter runs for sci fi TV shows is good or bad? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments.

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