THB #688: Make Television Linear Again

It’s beginning to feel a lot like teevee.

And by that I mean that Streaming is finally beginning to be much more like what has been Broadcast Television, with the added Netflix magic of language, nudity, and generally more adult edge.

We’ve already had a run of recent shows that feel more like classic tv. Clean Slate is the Norman Lear-parented sitcom on Amazon Prime that just found its legs about 6 episodes in and really needed at least another 6 for the season to feel complete. Paradise on Hulu kind of dives into its twist in Episode 6 of the opening 8… and leaves you really ready for the next 8 episodes, which we will have to wait so long for that we might not care by the time it returns, which would be a shame.

Disney+ finally took the slightly edgy by-the-book hour-long spin on Marvel and gave us a half hour that was perhaps a bit too long, but which when it was banging, it was banging hard and hard-R with Daredevil Reborn, which screamed for its completed arc, which clearly is another 8 episodes away and should then probably stop and reboot again.

I’m not saying everything needs to go to longer seasons. Shows like Reacher feel just about right at 8 episodes… enough to give us one chapter from a story we like. Other shows, like Sticky, feel like 6 episodes is about 3 short of the full story. The White Lotus has added 1 more episode each season (6 to 7 to 8), which might be part of some still unveiled notion from Mike White’s mind.

Slow Horses does a masterful job with short arcs, each a chapter in their book.

Hacks is coming back with another strong season, having taken that Reacher approach, each of its 4 seasons (10-8-9-10 episodes) offering a distinct chapter in the ongoing relationship between Deborah and Ava.