Support NeoGAF

[Ophiuchus]

I loved when TV shows had long seasons and you got new episodes pretty quickly. Binge-watching is awesome, but waiting two years for a new season is brutal. I felt the same way with "The Boys" and "Stranger Things"—it’s wild how much can change in that time, and it messes with the show’s flow. Weekly episodes are cool, but the streaming platforms need to find a middle ground and get back to shorter breaks between seasons.

 

[Madflavor]

The issue I’m having with this is that the quality and quantity just isn’t showing. Less episodes, not so good quality, twice the wait time. It’s bullshit.

 

[daffyduck]

I watched The Boys S4, too, and felt like the short S3 recap before episode 1 did a good enough job to hit the major plot beats that were necessary to follow what was happening in S4.

Although Hughie and Newman in S4 being good friends to the point of being like family was weird. Did that actually happen in S3 and I just totally forgot?

Spoiler

He quit The Boys to join her on her campaign; when he discovered she was a/the head popper, he called in sick until ultimately rejoining The Boys. Can’t remember which season.

 

[DetectiveBananas]

100% Agree. Ill admit i watch too much content, but i shouldnt have to wait 2 years for a show to come back and then forget everything that happened.

Stranger things
1 July 15, 2016
2 October 27, 2017
3 July 4, 2019
4 May 27, 2022
4.5 July 1, 2022
5. 2025.

itll be 3 years between season 4 and 5 of stranger things.

Waiting almost a decade for 5 seasons is the Strangest Thing Indeed!

 

[Shubh_C63]

Or

If you are taking 2 years to release a new season you really need a self contained Season in its own without the tease. But ofcourse nobody wants that either.

 

[jason10mm]

Or

If you are taking 2 years to release a new season you really need a self contained Season in its own without the tease. But ofcourse nobody wants that either.

If shows start routinely taking 2-3 years between seasons, this is a technique writers should use. Make each season self-contained, not just an act within a much longer story. Take The Boys for example, was there a discrete complete story in season 4 (or any season?). Not really, maybe the raising of and shutting down of Soldier Boy in S3? It's clearly meant to be acts in a longer story rather than complete stories each season with a cast of recurring characters.

 

[Audiophile]

Another thing I hate which became particularly popular is the [sometimes] extended final season with the mid season break.

10-12 episodes for x amount of seasons then you get something like 8+8 or 10+4 with months in between. Just ruins the flow.

I think most of the time they do this they're probably winging it right up against schedule too; as the quality has a habit of tanking in these cases (it's also common when they're rushing something to a close) (cough: Ozark)...

The dumbest one was a show called Flashforward which had a four month midseason break on its first season. It completely tanked as a result.