Why are seasons getting shorter?

[M'rk son of Mogh]

What if for example TNG had seven seasons and each season only, perhaps, 14 or so episodes.
Irritating thought. =)

When most people play this game, they assume a shorter season means only the best make.

But in the great what-if, there's every possibility we wouldn't even see the best. A 14 episode season may not have even given us Best of Both Worlds, for example.

 

[Nerys Myk]

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[The Wormhole]

There is some dross that could be cut and no one would miss them. There must be a TNG equivalent to "79 episodes, 30 good ones."

If you take the "79 episodes, 30 good ones" line literally as meaning only 37% of TOS was good, then, yeah, the same percentage can be applied to TNG, as well as DS9, Voyager and Enterprise as to how many of their episodes were actually good.

 

[Non Sync]

I'm going to guess that COVID production protocols also have had an impact on the number of episodes. It's easier to contain/isolate cast and crew for a shorter period.

 

[Owain Taggart]

But in the great what-if, there's every possibility we wouldn't even see the best. A 14 episode season may not have even given us Best of Both Worlds, for example.

Or they might have decided to go full-on TV movie mode instead of a two-parter, as is popular to do these days. I see more TV movies made these days as part of the continuity, which would have been the role of the two-parters in the past. Even as a 14-episode season, I don't think a two-parter would have been impossible seeing as a lot of these two-parters were bookends for their respective seasons, closing out one while starting up a new one.

 

[E-DUB]

I'm not partial to the whole "stretch one plot over a whole ten episode season" thing. I think SNW got it right. Discrete stories, but with continuing elements. And, as an aside, why do Brits refer to a season as a "series" and what do they call a series?

 

[thribs]

People are getting lazier.

 

[fireproof78]

When most people play this game, they assume a shorter season means only the best make.

But in the great what-if, there's every possibility we wouldn't even see the best. A 14 episode season may not have even given us Best of Both Worlds, for example.

Maybe, maybe not. Shorter means different priorities. Maybe it makes it due to being the big bang.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

Maybe, maybe not. Shorter means different priorities. Maybe it makes it due to being the big bang.

Assuming everything that lead to Q-Who still transpired in season 2 to follow it in season 3.

Butterfly effect of making season one 13 episodes probably even leaves Tasha in the show to change up every story later on.

 

[fireproof78]

Assuming everything that lead to Q-Who still transpired in season 2 to follow it in season 3.

Butterfly effect of making season one 13 episodes probably even leaves Tasha in the show to change up every story later on.

No Borg and more Tasha? Win-win.

 

[The Wormhole]

I'm going to guess that COVID production protocols also have had an impact on the number of episodes. It's easier to contain/isolate cast and crew for a shorter period.

Actually for the 21/22 season most US network shows were back at pre-pandemic normal episode count, or close enough to not be worth mentioning. Like the NCIS shows did 22 episodes each this past season vs the 24 they did pre-pandemic.

 

[Non Sync]

Actually for the 21/22 season most US network shows were back at pre-pandemic normal episode count, or close enough to not be worth mentioning. Like the NCIS shows did 22 episodes each this past season vs the 24 they did pre-pandemic.

Actually, NCIS season 19 (2021-22) was 20 episodes, season 18 (2020-21) was 18, season 17 (2019-20) was 20, and season 16 (2018-19) was 24.

It's also the costs. The longer a show is on, means the cast wants more money.

 

[The Wormhole]

The 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons wouldn't count as "pre-pandemic" as they were right there amongst the pandemic. Meaning the 19/20 season had to end early because the start of the pandemic forcing production to prematurely shutdown, while the 20/21 was while the pandemic was in full swing.

Season 19, the 21/22 season actually had 21 episodes, three less than the pre-pandemic normal, and in comparison to the other NCIS shows, only one less than they did for this past season, both Los Angeles and Hawaii did 22 each.

 

[WarpTenLizard]

Probably because production per episode is now higher. That, and with everything being serialized, they're more about hooking you with cliffhangers than with weekly content.

 

[Kor]

A lot of it is because so many HBO shows and other prestige shows got so much buzz for having 10-13 episode seasons. Then everyone else decided it was okay.

Yes, some time in the mid to late 2000s the really good shows on cable became known for shorter seasons stuffed with really good episodes and no forgettable filler.

Kor