Programs Including The Duffer Brothers' Hit and Yellowjackets Have Become Overstretched. I Advocate For the Limited Program
Many viewers know this disappointment. The second series of your top TV show drops on your platform, and you're brimming with anticipation. Season one ended so perfectly: upcoming stories were hinted at provocatively, and a main character had – cliffhanger! – been offed (or had they?). After the season wrapped, you were perusing Reddit threads with dedicated fans to find some Easter egg clues illuminating what would happen next.
And then season two’s premiere is a damp squib. It feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. By the next installment, your favorite cast member has done something that you and Reddit user Fishy2345 agree is totally out of character. By episode five, it’s clear that the showrunners have had collective amnesia regarding plot points heavily emphasized earlier. And by the disappointing finale, you silently wish that the show had just been cancelled.
The Curse of Too Many Seasons
Wishing for cancellation can only be retrospective; audiences frequently rally against early axings. Consider Kaos, an amusing Greek myth parody with Jeff Goldblum, which Netflix dropped over poor ratings. However, supporters might find comfort knowing the show's quality wasn't tarnished by a weak follow-up.
Looking back at the horror-mystery show Yellowjackets, I now wish it had been a limited series. The debut offered a richly imaginative setup, and its 10 episodes were note-perfect. A 1996 plane crash strands a female soccer team in wilderness. Top-notch cast members (with Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) depicted the survivors in dual eras. Several prize nominations followed, producers originally mapped out a five-season arc to fully explore the narrative. But last week, it was announced that it would end with season four. I felt grateful as a viewer.
The Stranger Things cast returns for season five.
Story decisions have weakened the core. Rather than leading with the girls’ return home, and their coping with awful experiences, we were taken in directions that bloated the original premise. This involved a wearying pattern of bringing in and focusing on new characters (like the underdeveloped daughter Callie) who did nothing for the broader story. It's disappointing, and watching a beloved program become tedious is sad.
A Common Phenomenon
Yet this issue extends beyond Yellowjackets. Shows such as Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things have lost the shock of the new, and settled into familiar patterns. Occasionally, series should end on a high note.
Indeed, pleasures exist in single-season stories. From Sharp Objects to I May Destroy You to Adolescence, TV creators know when to stop when the story has naturally reached an endpoint. However, the magic fades with series like Big Little Lies, first conceived as self-contained, extend endlessly with reduced impact. Perhaps Adolescence's team reconsidered a second season.
The Ideal Model
I desired Yellowjackets as a single-season show, living rent-free in our imaginations, unresolved threads included. My favorite TV show of all time has played out like that. This beloved 90s drama, the quintessential youth program, concluded after a single run yet felt epic in scale: its characters were difficult and contradictory, the filming captured a fall aesthetic, and the scripts transcended typical youth dialogue. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, yet this mirrors real life accurately of youth queries staying forever open. After 18 perfect episodes (and one dodgy one), I was heartbroken and took to writing season two fan fiction myself to address unfinished business. Despite existing on obsolete equipment, it shows how series resonate profoundly.
The Unique Connection
If writers recall the sacred audience-series connection, more series can conclude appropriately.
- The author covers entertainment and style.