When I imagine watching TV, I think of sitting down and watching an entire season of one of my favorite shows. Rarely do I ever remember a time where I would wait to watch a single episode of a show every Saturday. Thanks to popular streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+, we now live in a time where the programs we love are at our fingertips at all times. 

So what’s changed? For one, the binge-release model is a complete turnaround from a weekly release schedule in that it favors shorter seasons. Though it’s definitely a shift from the past’s more common 22-to-24 episode-per-season layout, traditional shows, especially those targeted toward a younger audience, are famous for having far too many “filler” episodes in order to meet seasonal run times. While shows today often have their seasons halved in episode length, they often make up for it with longer episode lengths. Additionally, shows today are generally more story-driven, with filler content being axed in order to make better use of run time. 

Binge-released shows are also far more convenient in terms of when and where people want to watch their favorite media. Obviously, not everyone has the time to go through an entire season in one sitting, but in the same way, not everyone prefers waiting for a weekly release. With entire seasons being released at once, viewers have the freedom to pick and choose when they’d like to enjoy episodes.

Still, streaming services don’t come without their own fair share of problems. On one hand, shows have the potential to achieve speedy popularity with the binge-release model. Netflix’s “Stranger Things” (primarily its fourth season), “Squid Game” and “Wednesday” all exploded in their overall number of streams upon release, becoming some of the most watched titles on Netflix. On the other hand, this sort of success brings up problems for other shows: the risk of cancellation. While beloved productions “Lockwood and Co.” and “Shadow and Bone” were by no means unpopular, with both sitting in Netflix’s Top 10 for periods of time, they were unfortunately canceled due to declining viewing rates. This is an unfortunate future for shows that simply don’t bring in enough revenue, leaving their fans with a disappointing, unfinished story. With the old television model, shows were usually given far more time to find their footing.

Overall, streaming platforms have brought us the control and instant gratification that traditional television never offered, though it does come with the unfortunate potential for speedy cancellations. People can argue for television’s old format. Still, there’s no argument when it comes to the fact that streaming services are setting a precedent for the future of television entertainment.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Catherine Guo at [email protected].