I won’t pretend to know anything about behind-the-scenes numbers and whether there really is some sort of advantage to split seasons, but critically speaking, it’s still not a good idea. Streaming has changed the game substantially. Most of us who write about TV shows daily know the formula. For instance, you can’t exactly review a network TV show until all episodes have aired throughout the year. If we are set to cover a show that’s dropping weekly episodes, we have a good chunk of the episodes to at least gauge where the season is going. (For example, we had nine out of fifteen episodes for The Pitt Season 2 before the review embargo broke.)
Yet Netflix splitting seasons of shows like Bridgerton and Stranger Things makes very little sense because all it’s done is leave us with frustrating cliffhangers or drawn-out narratives that are heavy on the exposition. And unfortunately, the latest show to fall under this spell has been Rivals Season 2. All episodes of the first season dropped at once, but its sophomore run is being split between six episodes in the spring and the remaining six in the fall. Dare I say, what’s the point of this?
It feels completely unfair to review the show based on six episodes when they’re split this way because all we’re getting is unfinished narratives that won’t be wrapped up for months. (Not to mention a horrifying cliffhanger that’s left us all in shambles, but not in the good way.) And while we’re used to hiatuses for network TV shows, the shift in streaming is odd. If episodes won’t be ready in time or whatever else, why not have the next batch be considered a new season?
Part of what makes streaming and fewer episodes as appealing as it is is the fact that the stories are contained. There’s very little room for fillers that don’t give us concrete character development, and while Rivals Season 2 does give us some substantial character beats that are great, the pacing is unfortunately wonky. Because really, even if certain beats aren’t drawn out to leave us hanging until the next batch of episodes, the places we’re leaving characters in don’t allow room for that general review.
Ultimately, it doesn’t feel like I can write one in fairness until we’ve seen all episodes in October, which feels strange considering there are months until then. In addition, what happens when we don’t have time to rewatch or revisit something, and crucial details go under the radar because of this gap? Split seasons ultimately just feel like a strange gamble that’s making everything more frustrating than it needs to be, instead of making it easier and more enjoyable to consume media.
Weekly episodes are a lot of fun if we can’t have everything to binge all at once, but these batches will never feel organic. In fairness, if I weren’t a journalist and if I didn’t have to watch these shows for my job, then I’d wait until it’s all available. In that case, the series gets fewer streams in the 90-day period, and that also feels wrong, too, because these shows deserve better.
What are your thoughts on split seasons? Let us know in the comments below.
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