Netpocalypse: The Termination of Television?
Cover for Netflix Limited Series Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich
In 2007, the video rental website Netflix began offering subscribers the chance to stream various TV shows and movies straight to their computers. The feature was novel, and, in my opinion, was a key moment in defining the future of TV shows.
Me watching another Netflix miniseries instead of doing homework
There is a key difference in regular TV shows and shows that were produced by Netflix, namely, their length. Big name shows released on television on a weekly basis such as The Office, Friends, and Full House have high episode counts (201, 236, and 192 respectively). On the other hand, the longest original show Netflix has ever produced, Orange is the New Black, only clocks in at 91 episodes. Even if the show length is not very noticeable or most people don’t think it’s a big deal, it is interesting to see what direction the television industry is moving towards.
It appears, in the new technological age, the audience has a much shorter attention span. According to the US National Library of Medicine, the adult attention span has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000, to 8 seconds in 2013. I would bet my bottom dollar that the average attention span has dropped significantly in the past 7 years, because of apps like Vine and TikTok, which display very short videos.
This decreased attention span might be the cause for some of the criticism Netflix is receiving about its longer running TV shows such as Narcos and 13 Reasons Why from The Vulture and Insider. “Oh yeah I hated all the seasons of 13 Reasons Why after season one,” said Moeller Senior and future construction manager Benjamin Broughton, “They were trying to make a story out of nothing. They milked that cow dry.”
It seems as though Netflix got the message, and they have started releasing what they call “limited series”. These limited series are usually 4-10 episodes long and consist of 40-60-minute episodes. Some notable recent examples are The Queen’s Gambit and Maniac. I like to refer to these miniseries as “long movies”, because most have a clear beginning, middle, and end. In my opinion, most could be compressed into a feature length movie format. What’s interesting is I think the same could be said for many Netflix originals such as Stranger Things or American Vandal. If you think about it, they could probably be squished down into movie form, mostly because of their overarching themes. The same can’t be said for program TV shows like Full House or even Trailer Park Boys, in which each episode has its own mini storyline. Netflix has stated that these shorter seasons and miniseries are both cheaper to make, and bring more audience to their website.
The Coronavirus has obviously had a big impact on the streaming industry, and many people think that miniseries will be the future. “I can definitely see the big-budget limited series becoming a powerful trend in entertainment again,” said Barna Donovan, a professor of communications and media studies at Saint Peter’s University. “This kind of entertainment can provide a perfect combination of star-power and epic-scale storytelling." The Coronavirus has had a big impact on the movie industry, and people like Donovan think that miniseries people stream from home will be the more attractive form of consuming media in the present and future.
This trend towards shorter, movie like TV shows is an interesting change in media. Sure, there will always be room for the older, more long-term version of television, but I believe in the immediate future, we will see more media like the Netflix Miniseries.