As a society, we long for community. The human condition is one of connection, and there is no greater way to feel that than through the arts. Theatre, opera, cinema, concerts: art brings people together in a collective emotional moment. For all of history people have relied on the arts for leisure, but it was usually confined to one place. An arena or an amphitheatre; you had to leave your house and physically show up. Now, in the age of streaming, we have unlimited entertainment at our fingertips, and that means that vital aspect of community is often lost. Nothing is an event anymore, a show premiers all episodes at once and itâs forgotten about a week later, the conversation moves on. Except for the few months a year when the streaming show of the year is airing its latest season. Community is once again formed.
Spoilers for Euphora, Succession, and The Bear!!!
If you look at the plot alone for most of these shows that create this buzz, you would probably wonder how they managed it. Succession is about a disgustingly rich family and media conglomerate. Industry is about finance and stocks. The Bear is about a kitchen. Severance is again, set in an office. In theory, the average person should have no interest. When watching these shows I have no idea what theyâre on about most of the time, yet I, and millions across the world, tune in every week. Why? These shows have incredible acting, original plot lines, a banging soundtrack, and their own personal style, but would that be enough? Whatâs the hook?
My first answer is in the writing. For all of these shows, and many more, despite the disconnect we as viewers may feel towards the plot itself, we love (or hate to love) the characters. For example, in no world should we be rooting for the Roy siblings to succeed. Theyâre rich and evil about it. Yet Jesse Armstrong and his writers created such deep, complex characters that when watching we couldnât help but love them. Watching Roman Roy be such a slimy, dysfunctional man was okay because he was kind of pathetic and a true yearner. Kendall Roy was such a âgirlfailureâ that he literally killed a man and we still wanted him to win. Shiv Roy was constantly embarrassing herself but we got past the second-hand embarrassment because thatâs our girl! Connor Roy did absolutely nothing but I still celebrated when he was on my screen. The complexity laced within these characters make the show, and itâs because of the writing.
My second answer is, of course, to do with the community formed. It is again thanks to the writing that the internet latched so deeply onto each character. Everyone has their favourite they would ride hard for (Iâm a Roman girly till I die), but there wasnât a character on any of these shows that I didnât care about. I loved Gerri because of her relationship with Roman, and I could then go on Twitter, scroll for thirty seconds and see someone posting a deep cut take on the intricacies of their bond. I could connect with people because they saw what I did in these characters and ran with it, as I usually do alone when watching other shows. Similarly, I watched The Bear and immediately fell in love with SydCarmy. And despite the writers not going there (yet, fingers crossed), I can talk to hundreds of people who feel the same way as I do about them. I can even talk to people who donât, and build a greater understanding of all aspects and perceptions of their relationship. This conversation is what keeps a show alive, and when we donât have that, the internet goes back to their own corners and that sense of community is lost.
The people long for Euphoria Sunday so badly that at this point, the quality of the show isnât the priority for watchers, people will tune in because they know Twitter will be in uproar every week. It started off so strong, which is how people got hooked in the first place, but Sam Levinson has since ruined public perception of the show, and the viewers, and seemingly most of the cast, actively hate him and what he stands for, yet no doubt most people will still tune in for the imminent season three. We all know the internet loves a hate watch, but this feels different. Twitter user @encneau said âI canât believe weâre getting euphoria Sundays back. Iâve been tuned into this since HS like wow.â And same. I bonded with my best friend over discussing what we thought of each episode like five years ago, and weâre still here talking about it. Another user, @rileybutera, tweeted âNo matter what was going on in the world, everyone came together for euphoria Sundays, we truly was one nation, one human race.â Slightly hyperbolic, yes, but on Twitter, itâs true. You could not scroll without every other tweet being about Rue and that suitcase or everyone collectively cringing at Cassieâs actions. The internet fell in love with Fezco and Lexie, Maddie was an inspiration for baddies everywhere, and any joke about Jules on that bike tickles me to this day. It is genuinely one of the only times the internet feels connected and everyone comes together without discourse and fandom wars, and I just think thatâs so important.
What these networks have got right is maintaining the weekly release schedule that was the norm with network television. It creates an event, people wait all week for the next episode, theories can be discussed, opinions shared, and most importantly, tension is built, increasing viewer retention. The six to ten episode streaming format has many negatives: the loss of filler episodes (hashtag bring back beach and holiday episodes 2026), prioritisation of limited series that are forgotten about almost as soon as they air, and a lack of opportunities for breakout stars (watch any classic network television: greyâs; CSI; NCIS; Criminal Minds, and you will see many a-list actors in their first roles. Theyâre so important to get a foot in the door and learn the skills required for television acting). However, the likes of HBO, Apple TV, and FX have learnt how to bypass this and create noise that isnât dampened by the constant flow of new media. We remember their shows and we relish the day each week a new episode drops if not for the episode itself, but for the conversation spurred from it.