Which shows would benefit from the Rick Gervais model?

[Joe Washington]

The Rick Gervais model, which has been used for the UK Office and the show Extras, is two seasons and a two-hour Christmas special to wrap things up.

Which shows can you think of could have been improved if designed with this model in mind?

 

[ronny]

That's not the Rick Gervais model. That's how British television works for the most part. Seasons generally range from 6 to 13 episodes. Many series also have Christmas episodes.

Most series would benefit from this instead of trying to stretch a concept to 24 or what ever episodes in one season and we need a hundred episodes eventually so we can syndicate. Let's start with The Office(US). I think the concept has played itself out.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Prison Break should have been one frakkin' season because that's all the premise had in it.

But other than that, most shows I watch can benefit from several seasons (and often have more life in the premise than the ratings allow).

Lost - Six seasons is perfect.

BSG - Four seasons worked out well.

Heroes - The open-ended premise could work for any number of seasons (if the writers can get their act together).

Breaking Bad - They should probably try for four seasons.

Dexter - As long as they want; even if it starts to decline, it would still beat most of what's on TV. But really, I'm thinking five seasons tops.

Chuck - Now that they have their third season, they should make hay with it; I'm not sure the premise would allow more (even if the ratings do).

The moral of the story is: the number of seasons should be goverened by the premise. Some premises are good for one season or less; others are so open ended they could go on indefinitely with casts changing and spinoff series. Most seem to hit around 4-5 seasons as optimal.

Or to think of this another way: if you're planning to do a TV show, why deliberately choose a premise that has only one season in it? What if the ratings are good? Are you trying to put yourself out of a job? Why not choose an open-ended premise instead?