There's a reason binge-watching shows became popular. The narrative flow isn't broken; the dramatic tension isn't broken; you know what just happened, what is happening, and what might happen; and shows don't need to constant repeat and call back to things just so you have an inkling of why anything going on is going on. (Granted the year wait for a season sucks, but the build-up in the binge hopefully lasts because it should have stronger emotional resonance.)
Weekly shows done annually (3-9 month gap(s))? Can still work, as they did for a long time. A little weaker, but a decent compromise between flow and filming schedules.
A show that has a 2 year gap? What flow? Wait, when is the next season? Oh, that's back? Huh, what happened and do I still care?
I know I'm annoyed at how often the BBC started down 1.5-2 year gaps between Doctor Who series. It's part of why I stopped bothering several years ago. "Is it coming back this year, or next year? Let me add it to my calenda-- oh wait, it's a TV show, screw adding it to my schedule like my life depends on it."
WhereRandomThingsAre t1_iu58hlr wrote
Reply to [Discussion] Anyone else struggles with following shows because of the increasingly longer breaks between seasons? by IBoris
There's a reason binge-watching shows became popular. The narrative flow isn't broken; the dramatic tension isn't broken; you know what just happened, what is happening, and what might happen; and shows don't need to constant repeat and call back to things just so you have an inkling of why anything going on is going on. (Granted the year wait for a season sucks, but the build-up in the binge hopefully lasts because it should have stronger emotional resonance.)
Weekly shows done annually (3-9 month gap(s))? Can still work, as they did for a long time. A little weaker, but a decent compromise between flow and filming schedules.
A show that has a 2 year gap? What flow? Wait, when is the next season? Oh, that's back? Huh, what happened and do I still care?
I know I'm annoyed at how often the BBC started down 1.5-2 year gaps between Doctor Who series. It's part of why I stopped bothering several years ago. "Is it coming back this year, or next year? Let me add it to my calenda-- oh wait, it's a TV show, screw adding it to my schedule like my life depends on it."