Remember when Netflix started producing original series? Their first original was called Lillyhammer back in 2012. These were the days when Netflix was known mostly as a company that sent DVDs in the mail. The streaming service was a free add-on that most people didn’t use at the time.
When Lillyhammer debuted, it made sense that all of the episodes were available at once. After all, Netflix’s other TV shows were all older so every episode was available at once. The company was at the forefront of bingewatching, a word which was so new at the time that most people didn’t even know it. For many folks their first experience with bingeing was by renting a TV series like 24 at the local Blockbuster. Yes friends, it was a different time.
When new original series came out on streaming, they got a lot of press coverage for a few days. Then the public moved on to something else. This meant that a lot of the value of these shows was limited. People tended to forget them quickly once the buzz ended.
About six or seven years ago, streamers started releasing shows once a week just like traditional TV networks. This kept the excitement going for weeks at a time, which is what those companies wanted. But was it better for consumers?
Just my opinion folks
I thought it was a bad move to start releasing shows one episode at a time. I honestly figured that I’d just forget they existed. I’m the kind of person who relies on my DVR playlist to tell me what’s available. I’m inclined to start a show and then forget about it if something else catches my eye. So I thought that if I didn’t binge a whole show, I’d stop watching.
But you know what, I was wrong.
I actually found that watching one episode at a time is less stressful than watching all of them at once. A lot of these shows on streaming are pretty intense and honestly spending eight hours with them can be kind of draining. Watching an hour at a time makes a lot more sense to me.
There are still shows I lose track of, and sometimes it’s on purpose. I, like many of you, was disappointed in Max’s The Idol, and those episodes are going unwatched. If it had all dropped at once I’d probably have tried to binge it and probably would have wasted more time on it than I did.
In fact, I find that when a series does drop all at once, I still only watch one episode a week. I’m still watching Peacock’s Based on a True Story because it works better as a weekly series than as a single event. It’s rare that I’ll binge an entire show at once. They’re just too intense.
Apple TV has my back
OK, many of you know that I’m in the Apple ecosystem. And I have to tell you that one thing I like about Apple TV is that you can configure the Apple TV app itself to put your “Up Next” list at the top of the screen. It’s easy.
Put the Apple TV app at the top left of your apps list. Then,
- Open Settings on Apple TV.
- Go to Apps > TV
- Select what appears on the Home Screen when the Apple TV app is highlighted in the top row: Select “Top Shelf,” then choose Up Next to see what’s in your personal queue.
This is similar to the function I have with my DVR where I get a complete list of what I want to watch. Most apps work with it, although Netflix doesn’t. Maybe someday they will.
Do you still binge?
I’m curious about how many people agree with me here. Do you think that it’s better to have stuff come out on a weekly basis? Or would you rather it dropped all at once? Leave a comment below!
