The original post: /r/television by /u/TheShowLover on 2024-06-23 16:23:09.
I find that I don’t have the same excited anticipation for any show if they’ve been off the air for a long time between seasons. I’ll watch them of course when they return. I’ll enjoy them in the moment too (hopefully). But my overall fandom is diminished. After their run, I won’t fondly remember them or rewatch if I never truly fell in love with it in the first place.
I get it. Fans of a certain era were conditioned to expect a show to return yearly. So they take notice when that gets disrupted. (Let’s not even get into the decrease in episode count.)
Let’s use Stranger Things as an example. It was all the rage. A lifetime ago. The momentum it had is gone. Will I watch the final season? Sure. But I’m not a fan like I would have been. Y’all remember what it was like.
Netflix is still going to make tons of money when Stranger Things returns. And for many “fans” this is all that matters. Spoiler alert: Netlfix is not going to sleep with you. But personally I don’t care about some rich asshole’s profit margin. I care about my own enjoyment. (I suspect said rich asshole doesn’t care about my enjoyment so it evens out).
It’s not just Stranger Things. It’s every show for me.
Is it across the board for you too? Or does absence make your fandom grow fonder?