Shows Like Stranger Things and The Survival Drama Have Become Overstretched. I Strongly Prefer the One-and-Done Program
It's an all-too-familiar feeling. The second series of your favorite TV show drops on your platform, and optimism runs high. The initial run ended with such precision: upcoming stories were hinted at provocatively, and a main character had – cliffhanger! – been offed (or had they?). After the season wrapped, you were perusing Reddit threads with fellow enthusiasts to decode subtle references pointing toward upcoming twists.
And then season two’s premiere is a damp squib. It seems as if the creative team was swapped for algorithms. By the next installment, a beloved actor's character acts in a way that fans unanimously declare inconsistent. Halfway through the season, the writers appear to have memory loss around the storylines aggressively signposted in season one. And by the disappointing finale, you silently wish that the show had just been cancelled.
The Pitfall of Prolonged Runs
Regretting a show's continuation is hindsight; audiences frequently rally against early axings. Look at Kaos, a delightfully satirical take on Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum, which was binned by Netflix due to low viewing figures. But perhaps these fans will rest better with the knowledge the show's quality wasn't tarnished by a weak follow-up.
Considering the thriller Yellowjackets, I now wish it had been a limited series. Season one had a creatively abundant premise, and its 10 episodes were note-perfect. A 1996 plane crash strands a female soccer team in wilderness. Skilled performers (with Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) played the characters across timelines. Several prize nominations followed, and the showrunners proudly announced there would be five seasons to fully explore the narrative. Recently, news broke of a season four conclusion. And as a fan, I let out a sigh of relief.
The Stranger Things cast returns for season five.
Plot twists have diluted the essence. Instead of focusing on the survivors' reintegration, and their coping with awful experiences, the story grew padded and excessive. A fatiguing tendency emerged of introducing peripheral figures (including the flat character Callie) with minimal impact on the main narrative. It's aggravating, and watching a beloved program become tedious is sad.
A Common Phenomenon
Yet this issue extends beyond Yellowjackets. Shows such as Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things no longer surprise audiences, and fallen headfirst into expected or comfortable cliches. Occasionally, series should end on a high note.
Actually, benefits come from self-contained series. Considering Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, producers recognize appropriate conclusion points. But the game is over when shows such as Big Little Lies, first conceived as self-contained, return repeatedly with declining quality. Hopefully, Adolescence’s producers have thought twice about that rumoured season two.
The Supreme Instance
I preferred Yellowjackets as a limited run, residing permanently in our thoughts, mysteries intact. My top series ever followed this pattern. My So-Called Life, the ideal adolescent show, concluded after a single run but achieved film-like breadth: its characters were difficult and contradictory, the filming captured a fall aesthetic, and the conversations avoided cliched adolescent writing. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, yet this mirrors real life accurately of never having real, definitive answers to the open-ended questions from your teenage years. After 18 great episodes (and one mediocre), I was heartbroken and took to writing season two fan fiction myself to resolve lingering mysteries. Despite existing on obsolete equipment, it shows how series resonate profoundly.
The Sacred Bond
If writers recall the sacred audience-series connection, more programmes can bow out when the time is right.
- This writer writes about the arts, music and fashion.