ABC
Winter breaks, or mid-season hiatuses. Whatever you want to call them … they suck. Back in the early days of television, networks series produced many more episodes per season than they do now. A sitcom like I Love Lucy turned in 39 episodes when it first started and ended its series run with 27 episodes in its sixth season. Even a drama like Gunsmoke aired 39 episodes during its first season in 1955. Until recently, most series turned in 24 episodes a year, which became 22 episodes, so with about 36 weeks to a regular season (September – May), a series either airs repeats or is bumped for a holiday special.
But, networks have begun to feel that airing repeats of a series during the regular season, especially for a serialized drama that needs to be seen with the proper continuity, has hurt the ratings and eroded viewership all around. FOX took the brilliant tactic of airing the last few seasons of 24 in the second half of the TV season without interruption or repeats, with some weeks airing two episodes to squeeze all 24 hours into the February – May time frame, and fans didn’t flee due to having to wait about eight months for the new season to start.
NBC learned a hard lesson on how an extended break could harm a series when the original Heroes was put on hiatus for four months. When it returned, most of the audience did not. Viewers don’t want their continuing stories interrupted in the middle. People are used to season finales that can end on a cliffhanger (thank you Dallas) and then enjoy the summer knowing the show will be back in a couple of months. No one seems to really enjoy a lengthy break in the middle of a season because that just feels like an interruption.
All of ABC’s dramas, save for Castle and Nashville, have adopted the winter hiatus strategy. Last season, the network made the brilliant decision to sandwich Marvel’s Agent Carter between the first and second halves of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. That made total sense since both shows take place in the same “universe” and have some connection to each other. Breaking up Grey’s Anatomy for a cop show, or something not from Shondaland, is jarring (although Grey‘s fans are loyal no matter what). But, those last two holdouts have finally agreed to the extended winter break strategy.
Castle, which normally only took a break for six weeks maximum, and most of that time was filled with holiday specials, will now have its mid-season finale on November 23, not to return until sometime in early February. The show has never not aired originals in January until now. Nashville, which took an eight-week break last season will be gone for even longer this season, although ABC has not announced any specific dates as of yet. Last season, the network’s Once Upon a Time was off for eleven weeks, the Shondaland shows were off for ten, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was off for twelve (with eight of those weeks filled by Agent Carter, which will return again this season).
The networks’ rationale is that longer stretches of uninterrupted episode helps retain viewers. Perhaps it does, but when a show is missing in action for more than a couple of weeks during the holidays, I almost forget that it’s coming back. Luckily these days we have DVRS that will remember these things for us. But is an extended break really the way to go?
Why don’t networks adopt the British or cable method of producing their series? In England, a series can have a minimum of three episodes per season (or series as they call it) and can be off the air for a year or more. Cable outlet in the US, like HBO, Showtime, FX, and TNT produce a minimum of 10 episodes a season for most of their shows, and they generally all air consecutively (unless they happen to begin in the fall and then take a couple of weeks off for the holidays). FOX aired 13 episodes of the first season of Sleepy Hollow to great success. The writers were able to keep the story tight and focused and made viewers eager for the show to return the following September. After promising not to extend the episode order, FOX execs did just that and tacked on five more episodes for season two which ended up being a sloppy mess that drove faithful viewers away (and they apparently are not ready to give the show another chance judging by the third season premiere ratings). On the other hand, Gotham had a 16-episode order that was bumped up to 22 for the first season, and I think the extra breathing room helped them expand the plot.
But … if the main tactic now is to continue to produce a 22-episode season of a show and interrupt it for 8 weeks or more to air a limited run series, why not just produce fewer episodes of the main series — say 13 — and forget the interruptions? Fewer episodes would not only ensure a continuous run, but would most likely produce a more consistently good season with less filler episodes that serve no purpose storywise, but just fill in a week on the schedule. ABC had two limited run series in Secrets & Lies and American Crime that did well enough last spring to garner a second season renewal, following the American Horror Story anthology approach with the new seasons telling new stories with the same actors playing different characters (except for Juliette Lewis, who will play the same character on Secrets & Lies). The networks are terrified of giving shows shorter seasons because they still think audiences will forget about them, but cable has proven them wrong, as have the streaming service like Netflix which has made an entire season available in one shot (a method they also seem to be abandoning for weekly releases — which still won’t be interrupted for a winter hiatus).
Isn’t it about time they all started thinking about quality over quantity as a way to keep viewers engaged? Shorter seasons would also be more cost-effective by producing fewer episodes a year and then allowing a network or studio to put more money into developing new series. With so many options out there now for TV viewers, the networks have to stop thinking in their antiquated ways and look for ways to engage viewers instead of pissing them off by taking their favorite show off the air in the middle of the season. They’ve found success in the summer with shows like Under the Dome, Aquarius and Zoo (which was just renewed for a second season), so isn’t it time to start thinking about change during the “regular season”?
Share this post
