Back in the olden days of the ‘80s and ‘90s, if you loved a show, you had to wait all week long for it to come on at its scheduled time. If you missed it or didn’t set your VCR, you had to wait for the rerun to air. Nowadays, these kids have it made because they have streaming.
If you miss Abbott Elementary, no worries–it’s on Hulu the next day. Or if your schedule doesn’t allow you to be in front of your TV on Wednesday nights, it’s no big deal. You can wait and watch a bunch of episodes on the weekend. However, there’s still one major question plaguing the Golden Age of Television: to binge or not to binge? Is it better to watch a series in one sitting, Netflix style, or do you prefer weekly drops?
As my colleagues and I recently discussed Idris Elba’s new AppleTV+ limited series Hijack, I explained that I was waiting for all the episodes to premiere, because the real-time aspect of the seven-episode series made it seem perfect for a good weekend binge. This led us to ponder whether we prefer our shows in one big portion or smaller weekly bites. Ultimately, we decided it depends on the show.
The new Marvel Disney+ limited series Secret Invasion is only six episodes, but its spy thriller, “who can we trust” storyline makes it extremely suspenseful. A friend told me he was waiting to binge it because he doesn’t want to wait six weeks to find out who the Skrulls are. It’s important to note that he’s not a social media addict like the rest of us, so he can easily avoid spoilers. Your opinion on spoilers likely plays a major role in your thoughts on weekly vs binge. If you’re trying to wait out a series connected to a major franchise or something with a very devoted fanbase, I can guarantee you will not make it through the season unspoiled.
Netflix has made it clear they don’t plan to move away from binging anytime soon. However, that decision could be hurting some of its most popular titles. Its biggest show, Stranger Things, is all anyone can talk about when a new season premieres. But that obsession only tends to last for a week, maybe two. Imagine how insane the internet would be if all those crazy conversations stretched out for four to six weeks. It really feels like series with deep mythology merit a weekly release because you need time to process everything. If WandaVision was dropped all at once, those emotional beats wouldn’t have hit as hard.
And honestly, the better the show, the more you want to savor it. If we’re talking about acclaimed titles like Succession or Game of Thrones, you really want to take your time with them and get all you can out of enjoying them. I remember when the first season of Luke Cage premiered, I was so excited I couldn’t stop watching. That 10 seconds Netflix gives you to decide if you want to get up and live life or keep watching meant nothing to me. But when I got to the last episode and it had only taken me 2 days, it was bittersweet. Sure, I enjoyed it, but there was also a feeling of “What now?” That was the day I went back to weekly releases. I’m not saying all binging is wrong. I could not have made it through six weeks of waiting for every new episode of Queen Charlotte to premiere. However, for the most part, with a high-quality show, you really need a weekly release.
With all the amazing TV to choose from right now, you can’t go wrong with either choice. But between the WGA writers strike and the looming threat of a SAG-AFTRA actors strike, the entertainment pickings are going to get very slim, so if you can keep a show on your watchlist for weeks instead of days, it will work out better for you.