I guess it's another form of the medium is the message.
Another effect we seem to be seeing is that streaming seems less inclined to grind out endless seasons of a show until even most of its fans just can't bring themselves to watch any longer. I expect the economics of streaming favor freshness rather than milking a cash cow through a decline when it's got little chance of bringing in fresh viewers.
(Which I think is mostly a good thing while recognizing there have been good series that took a season or more to really find their rhythm and voice.)
> Another effect we seem to be seeing is that streaming seems less inclined to grind out endless seasons of a show until even most of its fans just can't bring themselves to watch any longer. I expect the economics of streaming favor freshness rather than milking a cash cow through a decline when it's got little chance of bringing in fresh viewers.
it's an interesting reversal of the trend. back in the '00s, it seemed like even the best tv shows had a pretty scrappy first season: obviously low budget, little chemistry in the talent. if a show managed to get enough viewers in the first season, it would get a larger budget and hit its stride in the second one. nowadays it seems to be the opposite; most shows seem to give it all they have in a strong first season, then start phoning it in for the next couple, then getting culled without remorse when the viewership drops. I'm curious whether there's an economic reason for this, or if it's all in my head.
I don't claim this is a complete answer but contrast broadcast and streaming.
BROADCAST: Pay for pilots. Pick up some of them. You know a good chunk of shows won't make it past S1. Some won't make it that far. But, especially pre-reality show, you still have a schedule to fill with scripted TV. So you throw a bunch of mostly economical stuff at the wall and see what sticks. The stuff that does, you pick up and groom it.
STREAMING: Same deal with pilots. But now your main objective is to find that hit which will net you a bunch of new subscribers. Yeah, you need filler too but that's not as big a deal. So you're probably incentivized to do more swinging at the fences. And you probably don't care about having as many slow burn series because it's all about how many new subscribers you can sign on and, especially with serialized TV (which streaming/internet has also helped enable), if you don't grab people up-front, it's probably a waste.
Another effect we seem to be seeing is that streaming seems less inclined to grind out endless seasons of a show until even most of its fans just can't bring themselves to watch any longer. I expect the economics of streaming favor freshness rather than milking a cash cow through a decline when it's got little chance of bringing in fresh viewers.
(Which I think is mostly a good thing while recognizing there have been good series that took a season or more to really find their rhythm and voice.)