It seems as soon as we mourn the killing of the radio star, a new murderer is on the loose: streaming. Yes, folks, video killed the radio star and now, streaming has killed the video.
When I was younger, my grandfather would always ask me, “What shows are you watching on TV right now?” It was his attempt to gauge my interests and connect with me, as well as keep up with the rapidly advancing world of technology. However, there was a pivotal moment when my answers changed from “That’s So Raven,” “Drake and Josh” and “Hannah Montana” to “I don’t watch TV anymore.” I’d complain that there was nothing to watch, because there wasn’t. The era of “tweenage” shows had come to an end with shows like “K.C. Undercover,” “Jessie” and even the exclusively teen TeenNick channel being pulled from the networks. There was nothing for teenagers to watch, until viewers turned to Netflix for the new age of streaming.
Netflix came to the forefront with promises of bringing a platform to watch shows discontinued by broadcasting networks. All of my childhood favorites from Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Disney XD and even Teen Nick were resuscitated by the power of Netflix, for a mere $7.99 per month. It was like a deal with the devil; seemingly perfect, but with lots of strings attached.
Netflix originals grew more popular with shows like “13 Reasons Why,” “Stranger Things” and “Orange is the New Black” taking the world by storm. Netflix was also notorious for giving a second life to shows that hadn’t been doing well on their networks, skyrocketing them into popularity and providing the foundations to give the shows a second chance. This, however, opened the door to the painfully long-awaited nuisance of extended production time. Where shows were once scheduled for appropriately timed seasons, now it was taking years on end for production to be completed. Case in point, I started HBO Max’s “Euphoria” when I was in the 9th grade and probably way too young to be watching it. Yet here I am, 6 years later, about to graduate from college and the show’s final season is still in production. I’ve got a high school diploma and my Bachelor’s on the way and still, I have no idea how Rue’s going to pay that woman back.
On top of longer production time with streaming, there are fewer episodes. After waiting years for a new season to be released, you’d think there would be enough episodes to make it worth your while, but sadly, no. It seems 7-10 episodes per season is the widely adopted norm of streaming series. Amazon Prime’s hit show, “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” had only 11 episodes in its final season; 11 episodes that were strategically spaced out by being aired on a weekly basis. This is a technique that unfortunately works, but I absolutely hate it. Streaming had gotten me so used to the quick dopamine of binging series on end that I’d forgotten that television also released episodes weekly.
Lastly, the problem with quick cancellations. Everything is always getting cancelled so soon; “Everything Sucks,” “I Am Not Okay With This,” “The Society,” “High Fidelity,” “Grand Army” and last, but not least, my guilty pleasure, “Julie and the Phantoms” were all unfortunately axed after only one season. By pumping out a mass array of content on large scales, streaming has evidently shot itself in the foot, not allowing shows to gradually reach audiences and pull in traction. Streaming has increased platforms’ expectations of overnight success, ultimately straying away from the culture of watching television. We used to live in a world where television cultivated conversations; you’d watch a show, rave about it to your friends, who’d tell their friends and it’d establish a circle of dialogue embracing the community built by these shows. This nature of quick cancellations doesn’t give these projects a chance to exist as a creative endeavor and touch audiences.
I will admit that despite my complaint about streaming, I do have a subscription to streaming services. Sue me. The case of television seems like a matter of moving forward or getting left behind, but truthfully, is getting left behind so bad?