Hype is important, but a couple of shows should’ve stopped after their first season (or gotten better writers)
TV shows come and go, but once they get hyped up, maybe you’ll never have to say goodbye to it. With the high competitiveness between social media and streaming services nowadays, any product that experiences the bare minimum of audience appreciation is renewed for another season or sequence. The most recent victim of this was Netflix’s latest crime series, Untamed. After two weeks in the platform’s Top 10 most-watched shows, the show originally announced as a limited series is now renewed for a second season.
It’s obvious that the renewal makes a great part of the audience excited for what’s next and leaves the companies more secure money-wise, so why not be happy for it? The problem is that stories that the audience first fell in love with are difficult to maintain, and without previous plans to expand its events, the results may not please its fans.
Squid Game is a big example of this. The show’s first season became Netflix’s most-watched non-English series, with over 2 billion hours watched. The success made the creator Hwang Dong-hyuk extend the stories for two more seasons, which he never intended to do. Even with high quality and a cohesive ending, many viewers did not embrace it, reliving the discussion of how the show should stay with only one season.
Comments of viewers navigated between “the ending felt too rushed imo”, “That was just stupid writing”, and “The ending f***** sucks”, which explains why the show’s third season has a 51% approval from the public in opposition to its first season, with 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
This discussion does have its weak spots, as we could argue that many shows triumphed after many seasons or episodes. For example, Stranger Things is one of Netflix’s biggest shows. Even with the initial idea of being a limited series, The Duffer Brothers, creators of the show, saw potential in the series universe that could be expanded, and, with the first season’s success, the number of views and positive critics just grew along the seasons.
What is most interesting is that the hype did not maintain the good story. Stranger Things, Good Omens, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Big Little Lies are just a couple of fan favorites that have thrived after their original season, but they all had one thing in common: good writers.
Not to depreciate the work of many writers out there, but everything needs a limit. Many TV shows, even the ones that already had more seasons planned out, experience a decline in quality after their first season, which is absolutely normal. Maintaining the same rhythm of creativity after multiple seasons, losing cast members, or even running out of a story to tell can get in the way of many productions. Creativity is limited, and so are a few shows.
If you are in Gen Z, you probably remember one of 2017’s most talked-about TV shows on social media. 13 Reasons Why became a hit shortly after it premiered. Primarily because of its problematic approach to sensitive issues, but also due to the massive mental health discussion that it motivated at the time. With all that success, the miniseries quickly got renewed and got its second season the next year, which… well, should never have happened.
Having a Great Idea is Easy, but Destroying it is Easier
Show business has introduced many great stories throughout the decades, but it’s important to remember that it still is a business. Many shows can carry on for years being mediocre or simple, but they cannot trick their audience for too long.
Money Heist was bought from a Spanish network after it ended as a Netflix Original. The limited series was divided into two parts on the streaming service, and before even the second part premiered, it had already gone viral. As you must imagine, it was renewed for another series and even got a spin-off series called Berlin. But even with high popularity, the numbers don’t lie.
While Money Heist’s got 92 million views, its spin-off got 53 million. The numbers, sure, are still mesmerizing for investors, but we cannot say the same about quality. The more platforms and networks focus on numbers, the quality expected will never be the same.
There are no more shows with over 8 episodes and with a new season every year. But should the ones, which already have a good ending be exploited in the name of business?