The original post: /r/television by /u/SnooConfections7049 on 2025-10-02 03:09:58+00:00.
The Duffer brothers recently came out in an interview defending Netflix’s formula of having anywhere between. A two to three year gap between new seasons of their shows. A strategy that Netflix subscribers and subscribers of other popular streaming services have been complaining about more and more since around 2020. That’s the timeline I’m following because if I’m being honest I didn’t really start watching Netflix originals in particular. Until around 2019-2020 I was a fan of all the teenage rom-com movies, but the only show on my radar before that was 13 Reasons Why. And I never really paid attention to the gap between season releases.
But when I look back on it I think it makes sense fans of shows like Stranger Things started to become annoyed with. The wait for Season 4 but while fans were annoyed. I felt like everyone was patient because of course everything got put to a halt. Because of COVID-19. I looked up the releasing schedule for popular Netflix shows before and after COVID-19. For this argument I’m going to use Outer Banks and Stranger Things as an example.
Stranger Things Season Release Schedule 1- July 15, 2016 2- October 17, 2017 3- July 4, 2019 4- May 27, 2022
Outer Banks Season Release Schedule 1- April 15, 2020 2- July 30, 2021 3- February 23, 2023 4- November 7, 2024
Like I said the wait between season 3 and season 4 of Stranger Things was long, but there was a clear explanation for it. Now the days of the pandemic are long gone and it feels like Netflix just has the moments. Where they decide to make fans of their most popular shows wait 2-3 years before a new season drop, and then there’s the releasing breaking the new seasons up into to 2 parts. Instead releasing the whole season at once considering how short the seasons are. I understand why so many fans are irritated, but even without the pandemic I do think there is a few clear reasons. Why Netflix could never adapt their release schedule to that of cable TV shows. Well maybe not clear but here is my opinion.
It feels like Netflix is choosing to make the gaps longer between new releases on purpose. When you look at the release schedule of Stranger Things and Outer Banks up above. Season 3 and 4 of Outer Banks were the only ones to not be released within almost a year of each other. And Stranger Things its the same thing 2 and 3 are the biggest gap before 4 and the upcoming season 5. I think fans were always aware it would take a long time for Season 5 of Stranger Things to come out, but no one was prepared to wait basically three years for seemingly no reason.
I think one of the biggest reasons it is taking Netflix and other streaming services longer to produce new seasons of their shows is. One casting big name actors who are in high demand in the main cast. Think about it growing up a 90s kid I always felt like there was a clear distinction between TV show actors and movie actors. I even remember coming across articles about why most actors didn’t make the crossover often. I can’t remember who said it but I read an article where I remember. A big A-lister movie star saying that it was important for an actor to commit to one or the other that trying to do both was too complicated. And there was some horror stories about big movie actors acting all uppity on TV show sets when they did guest star. So yeah back in the old days TV show actors and movie actors lived in two separate worlds. If you were an TV show actor and wanted to do movies. You had to leave whatever show you were doing at the time or go down to a guest starring role basically.
Two prime examples of this is one Sherlock was basically cancelled because of Benedict Cumberbatch taking on the role of Doctor Strange and then Martin Freeman took his acting career to the next level. The second example is Dylan O’ Brien on Teen Wolf at the beginning when he was first casted as the lead in. The Maze Runner film series it didn’t seem to mess with shooting schedule for Teen Wolf, but with the last movie Death Cure he had to reduce his role, and leave completely for the final season. Then there’s the list of actors who left popular shows that were in no danger of being cancelled to go make it big.
Streaming has changed all this in the world we live in now. You see major A-list actors star in two separate projects for two separate Streaming services, and have two movies come out in theaters on top of that. Multiple big name actors have talked about how they refuse to sign long-term contracts for movie franchises or shows anymore. Because it restricts the number of projects they can do, and forces them to pass on opportunities that otherwise they would’ve accepted. I feel like you can apply this argument to Wednesday.
I love Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams and can’t picture another actress in the role honestly. Now we got the first season on November 23, 2022 and the second on September 3, 2025. That’s basically 3 years if you round it up. A lot of fans are saying we won’t have to wait as long for the third season as the second season production got paused because of the writers and actors strike. Some fans are predicting season 3 will premiere in fall of 2027 which is still technically a two year gap. Which feels ridiculous to most fans when it’s only going to be eight episodes. But when you factor in the three movies that Jenna Ortega has lined up for the next couple of years, and Emma Meyers filming the second season of A Good Girl’s to Murder it makes sense. That it is going to take them a while to get to filming season 3.
And that’s another statistic to look at even when Netflix does choose to cast. Somewhat unknown actors in their shows if that show goes on to blow up, and become the next big thing. No doubt you’re going to have at least two to three actors who will start to build their careers more and more with this newfound popularity. Netflix is known to capitalize on some of the popularity of their stars and use them for other projects as well. Madelyn Cline in Glass Onion, and we saw her in I Know What You Did Last Summer this year. Millie Bobby Brown is another perfect example, and then there is Finn Wolfhard.
Another example of this actually the perfect one is Euphoria. At this point the fanbase has basically given up on season 3 with everything going on. Now the main reason it took so long to get the new seasons in the first place is because they casted Zendaya in the main role, but look at the case of Sydney Sweeney who was able to leverage her popularity from the show to grow on her career. I remember coming across an article detailing how it wasn’t just Zendaya’s busy schedule that the show had to deal with it but Sydney Sweeney’s and Jacob Elordi’s.
I bring this up because I see some people talking about. How Hollywood needs to get back into the business of creating stars. Instead of recycling the same 10 to 20 actors for everything. But the issue would still exist they would still zero in one the best talent or two out of the cast and put them on pedestal.
Now going into the second reason Netflix won’t adapt to the cable formula. It would be bad for business. Netflix hears the complaints of their subscribers, but won’t change their ways because in the long run it will hurt them. Back in the day when Netflix’s only competition was Prime Video and Hulu. They didn’t have much to worry about back in those days people could afford all three. But then every major studio in Hollywood wanted a piece of the streaming pie. Now there’s like 5 big streaming services and a number of small ones. And Netflix has been forced to adapt to the new rules created by the newcomers.
Releasing the new season of shows in two separate parts rather than all at once for people to binge. I think it was a combination of two things one seeing Disney+ and Max doing it for their biggest shows and it working. Second some Netflix subscribers did start to voice their distaste for the binge method. A lot of people started to say they didn’t have time to watch the whole new season of shows when they dropped first thing, and they were tired of everything being spoiled for them on social media. Subscribers were saying the build-up would be better as well. So Netflix listened and then realized another pro to this for them.
If they break the new season into two parts and release them a month or two apart from each other. It forces subscribers who are only subscribed for one or two particular shows to stick around longer than they want. Because let’s be honest in the world today where there are five big streaming services and a bunch of small ones. Each of them tend to have at least one movie or one series worth everyone’s time. The only problem is no one feels like paying for all of them at once. So what do you do watch the main event, cancel, and move on to the next thing. In the past there have been rumors of streaming services getting rid of monthly subscription options to curve that practice, but no one thinks they are actually going to do it. Because it would in the long run cost all of them too many subscribers.
So the whole two to three year gap between Netflix’s most popular shows just happen to workout in their favor, and it also gives them time to find the next big thing when they have shows like Stranger Things coming to an end. And another thing I want to mention is longer seasons. Honestly I don’t think streaming shows was ever supposed to be …
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