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| Ideal Series Length |
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 Saturday, 10:40 PM
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#1
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 laugh 'til we cry
Pronouns: she/her
Joined: 29 August 2014 Posts: 13,729 User: 21,176 
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At the ripe old age of 27 I have developed commitments issues when it comes to series. I just can't start something if it's more than 5 or 6 series long because in my mind I've already written it off as going on longer than it should be bc this is generally the case. My best friend keeps telling me to watch Grey's Anatomy and I just can't bring myself to do it
 I've been burned in the past when I've been into a series and it keeps going on and on and on and.... Like Pretty Little Liars or How I Met Your Mother, both should have ended after a few seasons. Riverdale takes the absolute piss, I stopped watching it after season 2 I think  The 100 also went on too long but I did stop watching it after season 3, from what I've seen though it lost its way a bit.So what series do you feel that way about? On the other hand, which series were cut too short. I feel like there is a longer list for those, especially when it comes to Netflix shows that have been cancelled after their first season. Sense8 immediately comes to mind for that. One Day At A Time, Winnona Earp, The Wilds, Faking It as well. There's probably more I could add if I thought about it. Orphan Black is my all time favourite series and as much as I'd love for it to have gone on longer I can fully respect why it ended when it did and it felt natural, I don't feel like it was cut before it's time. I do hope they do something with it in the future as I do miss it but I can always rewatch it for the 10th time I suppose
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23 hours ago
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#2
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 Buffy/Charmed
Joined: 18 April 2013
Posts: 44,128 User: 18,639 
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I think 8 seasons is the limit really, except for animated series where you can dip kn and out. Things like Grey's Anatomy are RIDICULOUS and beyknd a joke; what do they have left to tell? The length alone tells you it's padded out and rehashed trash. A series with 1 season usually means something went wrong, and 2 seasons series can be great, but it usually mesns they got axed. So I think 3-8 seasons is the right amount for tv, except for cartoons.
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16 hours ago
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#3
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 there's nothing straight about plump Elvis
Pronouns: they/any
Joined: 21 January 2016 Posts: 13,148 User: 22,895 
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I'm old fashioned, I like something long with loads of episodes
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11 hours ago
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#4
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nabad
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 13 February 2013 Posts: 28,388 User: 18,316
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Agree with Michael, I think for me 8 seasons seems (going by shows I've watched and love that have ended there) to be a natural end-point that proves to work well, and can wrap a long-running story up perfectly. Desperate Housewives is probably the best example of this. Each season was consistently strong with season long arcs that never felt tired or rehashed, and by the time we reached season 8 you really felt like things had gotten to where they were naturally, and that it was the most fitting end they could have given all of the characters. Any more and they'd have been stretching it, and any less we'd have been short-changed.
Grey's Anatomy is definitely just running for the sake of it now, which is a shame as it was so strong in the first 12 seasons. I don't mind shows that do exceed the 8-season mark (Modern Family is the only one coming to mind though tbf ), but when it's getting to a point where they're just chasing headlines being 'longest running x show ever', it becomes less about telling a story actually worth telling and more about just continuing for the sake of fan service or not wanting to let go.Shameless UK is another example of a show that outstayed its welcome just a tad (albeit they did wrap things up brilliantly when it eventually did end) and ended up with some really dud episodes/storylines because they tried to reinvent it to avoid ending it completely. That should have ended after series 8, wrapping things up and bringing everybody's stories to a close there, but instead they carried on with three pretty poor series after, before circling back in the final few episodes of series 11. |
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8 hours ago
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#5
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 I'm a paragon so don't perceive me
Joined: 3 February 2011
Posts: 37,426 User: 12,929           |
My baseline for this has always been pre-2009 Star Trek, which finished 3 shows perfectly with 7 seasons and had 1 show sorely lacking when it ended in 4 instead of 5 or 6, so 7 is the best number in my mind. Generally, 6-8 seasons I think is the best, depending on how much each show can get out of the stories or characters. 5 might be possible with a more modern show because more focus is spent on advancing plot even with less episodes, but less is rarely going to cut it and make a show great and worth the time investment unless the show is either a spinoff (so some elements of the setting are known) or a specific limited series focused on one story. 9 is fine when the plot is sprawling and the show needs it (like GoT would have needed it). But yeah, if it's not long enough I often don't start it these days because I don't expect a decent payoff or attachment to the characters if it's all over in 2 or 3 seasons.
obviously going beyond 10 seasons is insanity, and is usually trading off an established brand to serve up subpar stories now they've exhausted all of the good ideas with the concept. |
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5 hours ago
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#6
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 The owls are not what they seem
Pronouns: He/him
Joined: 11 July 2009 Posts: 37,143 User: 9,232
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4-5 seasons is good, but honestly less is even better if that's the full story. I like it when shows are concise and can resolve everything within a short timeframe and stay true to the spirit of the show. I've found a lot of shows that go on and on are really clutching at straws and I just lose interest, even shows like Lost and Friends which I really liked overall, would've been better ending earlier.
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5 hours ago
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#7
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Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,336 User: 54
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I think maybe about 4 series is the optimum amount? It isn't impossible for me to like a show that is longer but I'm struggling to think of many shows that are longer that I don't think had some shaky parts along the way.
You can get away with it if there are new stories every episode - ie things like Black Mirror, Inside no 9, even things like Star Trek or comedy shows etc but when it is one continuing story I'd prefer it to be over by the end of series 4. I especially don't really care for a series when it feels like it is beginning to just drift - even if they introduce new characters and stories, I want the original one to just end properly please. |
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5 hours ago
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#8
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you never forget your first time...
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,919 User: 13,530 
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I think there are good and bad examples each way and it totally depends on the type of show it is, but I'd say about 4-5 seasons is the optimum amount on average. More than that does tend to result in diminishing quality and plotlines becoming more incoherent, especially in the era of 16-25 episodes per season. I really enjoyed it the whole way through but it was obvious Lost was being made up as it went along for the second half of its run, posing more questions than it answered, so it probably went on a bit too long. The 100 definitely did, its final two seasons were quite far removed from the rest of the show - it probably could've ended after season 5 somehow. Equally though, I think The Vampire Diaries excelled with its sixth season, and had a pretty great final season with its eighth outing too, but by that point its lead actress had departed which left it feeling a little strange (as much as the remaining actors carried it well).
On the other hand, I think it was obvious Manifest was intended to run longer than the four seasons it got. I'm glad it got the chance to wrap up, but the final part of season 4 is a little rushed because they had a six season plan and had a lot to cram in...! The quality of writing and acting was strong throughout too so I'd have happily watched more seasons of it, but of course it helps that I discovered it not too far down the line - I tried Supernatural a few years ago, just before it ended, and while I enjoyed what I saw, I couldn't ever raise the motivation to get past season 2 of FIFTEEN because there's just TOO much, especially with so many episodes per season too. More than anything nowadays I appreciate when a series is given a chance to wrap properly. Sense8 was cancelled too soon but I appreciate that it had a finale episode commissioned despite its cancellation, and Manifest being revived by Netflix to tell the final part of the story, albeit in one season instead of three, was appreciated. I can appreciate a limited series for this reason, too. One of my favourite shows is the TV adaptation of Looking for Alaska, which simply tells the story of the book, no more and no less, in one season. No discussion of a second season, no plans to take it anywhere else, it just does what it needed to and it was brilliant because of it. I wish Love, Victor took a similar approach with hindsight, because the magic created in season 1 got lost a bit in season 2 and I didn't really enjoy season 3 at all in the end 
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4 hours ago
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#9
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 Here to play, here to stay
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 8 February 2015 Posts: 20,332 User: 21,587
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24 episodes is the perfect dose for me, and I get disappointed when a series ends before I reach that number!
As far as the number of seasons, it depends on the storyline being developed for me. |
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4 hours ago
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#10
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you never forget your first time...
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 19 April 2011 Posts: 121,919 User: 13,530
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I rarely feel like I have the time to binge nowadays so I find 24 episode seasons a bit of a turn-off when I want to rewatch something!
The Vampire Diaries is one I'd LOVE to watch all over again but 171 episodes that I've already seen doesn't feel like the most productive use of my time!!
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4 hours ago
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#11
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not 152chris (☻‿☻)
Joined: 2 February 2007
Posts: 12,894 User: 2,790
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Ricky gervais has is right with 2 series per show… never let it get stagnant but have people wanting more
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4 hours ago
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#12
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nabad
Pronouns: he/him
Joined: 13 February 2013 Posts: 28,388 User: 18,316
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Yeah I really think we're done with the era of 21-24 episode seasons of shows now. (thank god, no matter how many good episodes from TV shows it may have produced)
There are lots of amazing shows that followed that formula, but most of the time it ends up just being unnecessary filler when it could have been a much tighter 14 to 16-episode series. The only recent example I can think of where Netflix has broken from its 6-10 episode formula to give a show a true chance to tell the story it wants to tell is One Day. A very faithful adaptation that definitely deserved the 15 episodes and it didn't ever feel like too much because it was always the vision. On the other hand though, there are some 'limited series' that Netflix are bringing out that feel like they absolutely needed more time to breathe, or a second season to develop the story further and answer some questions (looking at you, Boy Swallows Universe). |
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3 hours ago
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#13
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Mansonette
Joined: 7 March 2006
Posts: 35,336 User: 54
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I’ve just finished watching One Day this afternoon, it was a lovely show and definitely worked over more episodes - especially as it is clearly a single season show <3
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2 hours ago
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#14
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laugh 'til we cry
Pronouns: she/her
Joined: 29 August 2014 Posts: 13,729 User: 21,176
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That's true, the type of show it is definitely affects this like crime drama types can have as many seasons as it likes really but that's because you could just start watching anywhere and not be overly confused since each episode is generally a new storyline anyway with the exception of the characters individual stories but they're rarely the focus point anyway. Silent Witness, Criminal Minds etc come to mind for that
I think shorter seasons are a result of modern viewing habits as well, people love a limited series or something they can binge in a day/weekend. I enjoy series like that but I also love something I can be invested in, I'm kinda missing that rn - YellowJackets Season 3 is the only real one I'm actively waiting on coming out but that's probably not going to happen for another year yet, the strikes really set back filming etc. That's definitely one that will have an expiration fairly soon because it starts with the present timeline then jumps backwards so once those two timelines meet there's probably nowhere for it to go but hopefully we'll get a few more seasons from it until then
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