Ivysaur will explain it better butCan we talk about how come the business of TV Shows works the way it does when it comes to picking up a series to air? Because i don't understand why networks are picking up season orders or bunch of episodes based only on the pilot.
It's like they are willingly making a decision to assess the series on the least amount of data\content there can be. You give creators all the time in the world to write and film the pilot so it gets maximum attention, it's been worked on the hardest for the longest -- you are bound to get something decent by the end which doesn't reflect the level of content that creator can produce 'for real' in the week-by-week , ep-by-ep schedule of a TV series. 'Suddenly' you see the content produced isn't that great, resources usage not good, no consistency or clear direction for the entire season.
It's like the 'Sophomore year' issue where artists had all the time to hone their first project before they released it and now that there are deadline they can't re-capture what make the first attempt good.
Get them to make 3 episodes and then assess if you're going pick up the show and give it full season. You spend more at the beginning but you lessen the chance of having duds in prime times and having to reschedule or fill holes. Spend more at the start so you spend less later on and you have a better chance to have shows that stick because you've seen how that project handles itself making 3eps in a timeframe rather than work their ass off on the pilot that in the end doesn't reflect what that team can produce in the regular season.
- It is expensive to fund more than one episode in advance. Let's say half the shows you order a pilot, you get an actual show.
- They don't get full season orders from the get-go unless the show will clearly dominate the ratings. They often get a 13 episode order, after which the network can ask more scripts.
- They work more on a weekly basis. By the time you have seen the first three episode they'll have written like 3-4 more and have filmed 1-2. So by the time they get a full season pick-up, they actually know how good the team is at handling week to week writing and how the audience is reacting.