Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
There’s a show on Amazon Prime that I have been watching, an animated superhero adventure called “Invincible.” I adored the first season of the show that aired back in 2021 and eagerly awaited the second season, which was set to release in late 2023. The community was huge, and the social media presence of the show had been at an all-time high.
Then the show-runners announced that the last four episodes would be released early next year in 2024. I remember watching people on social media go into shock and some decided to drop the show right then and there.
Barely anyone talked about the last four episodes on social media when they were eventually released in early 2024. I can recall seeing everyone move on so suddenly and that’s when I thought about how release models have changed since streaming services stole the spotlight.
Streaming services have taken over television these days, and with them comes a lot of changes in release models.
Netflix released “Stranger Things” season three in two separate parts and released all 10 episodes of “Beef” at once in 2023. These shifting release models can likely be attributed to COVID, which encouraged us all to stay in and binge instead of waiting for episodes after a long day outside. However, there are some shows such as “The Boys” that have stuck to the weekly episode release model.
From these new binge models came the debate: Which release model is better? Is one superior to another?
There’s merit to all three kinds of release models — from releasing episodes of a season weekly to dropping one whole season altogether to putting out two parts of a season with a long break in between. Releasing a season all at once is good for binge-watchers who hate waiting for new episodes each week, especially on streaming services.
On the other hand, releasing in separate parts helps to preserve the show’s hype after a long wait. Weekly episodes are much easier to catch up on than full seasons and they create a steady stream of content over a month or so, therefore it has longer staying power.
But, there are also many flaws to every release model. Having a season go out all at once means that it will have less staying power in the cultural zeitgeist. Discussion will likely halt after a week or so and hype will die down as quickly as it came.
Episodic series “generate 33% more engagement during their release window than those released all at once — and sustain that engagement for nearly 50% longer than their binge counterparts,” according to a September LA Times article titled “Weekly episode drops are better than a binge. And there’s data to back it up.” Series with weekly episodes have longer staying power both during and after the season ends.
For instance, Amazon Prime released the first season of “The Boys” as a binge release in 2019 and transitioned into a weekly episodic release for their next seasons. It debuted as the 57th most in-demand series before exploding in popularity later on, sitting as the 4th most popular show on Amazon Prime.
“The Boys” has consistently been climbing in viewership until their recent season exploded in popularity, garnering 55 million viewers globally according to Amazon Prime. It currently ranks as the 21st most popular show online according to Television Stats, a high placement when considering the last episode of the most recent season aired in July.
In comparison, “Beef” is ranked as the 227th most popular show online and was the 36th most popular show on Netflix according to Television Stats. It has a low engagement score of 2.7, which measures website traffic, social media activity, and torrent data.
Releasing in two parts with a few months in between will lose some of the audience’s attention since many may not remember what happened in the first half and will not bother to rewatch or watch the second half. Weekly episodes mean that binge-watchers will have to wait and they may lose patience over time.
One example of this release model’s failure is shown through the show “You” and its latest season. While the first three seasons of the show were dropped all at once, the fourth season was dropped in two separate parts with a month in between. Part two of the program’s fourth season “dropped 12% in viewership,” according to a May 2024 article on Feature First.
Out of all of these models, weekly episodic releases have the least drawbacks for both consumers and studios alike as it has both consistent staying power and is easier to catch up on than full season or two-part releases.
While binge-watchers might get impatient, I think that there is still a larger audience with less leisure time who would rather watch an episode a week. They might prefer keeping up with the overall conversation surrounding their favorite series rather than choose to watch a full season all at once or wait for a part two to drop.
It’s both beneficial to the consumer and the studio to have weekly episode releases rather than let a show have a one-off release or release it in two parts, losing a large part of the audience or letting it become forgotten in the mainstream.
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Contact Christy Thien via email: christy.thien@pepperdine.edu or by Instagram: @christy.e.t
