For many, the Succession finale answered the show’s big question after nearly five years of anticipation. For me, aged 14, the Suits finale was so good that I said thank you on my Instagram story (a sobering trip through the archive, believe me). Nonetheless, that’s an experience only a weekly release can provide.
Don’t get me wrong—my reading week was spent bingeing Below Deck with instant gratification. But since then, I’ve felt as if I overwatched, which is why a weekly release is so much easier to digest. However, with the rise of streaming services like Netflix and Disney+, appetite has changed, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With more time at home, bingeing TV became a cultural phenomenon that particularly dominated the lives of young people, and many believe it to have been detrimental to both physical and mental health. Even today, weekly releases stop you from clicking “Next Episode” until it’s magically dark outside.
In some cases, bingeing can also lead to underappreciation of an episode’s individuality. Take Breaking Bad, for example: “Ozymandias”, the fourteenth episode of the show’s final season, is often hailed as one of the best television episodes of all time and has been analysed for its references to Percy Shelley’s poem of the same name. Given that it follows a cliffhanger, bingeing the episode surely detracts from its artistry.
Additionally, it seems that these shows have a better cultural shelf life. Weekly episodes of The Good Place maintained a much stronger audience than the binge-released Grace and Frankie, despite NBC renewing both for multiple seasons, indicating a better reception for the former’s broadcast model. I binged the first season of The Traitors, but I enjoyed the second so much more because it was a social activity; after all, you can’t debrief with your family, flatmates, or coworkers if one of you is ten episodes ahead.
One thing I’m certainly not a fan of is releasing half of a season in one go (I’m talking to you, Outer Banks). You don’t get the slow burn of a weekly release or the instant gratification of binge-watching—no thanks.
Honestly, there’s definitely a time and a place for both, and they aren’t the only options. One thing’s for sure, though: binge-watching just can’t replicate the excitement I once felt sitting down to watch The X Factor on a Saturday night.
Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash