It's cute, but also an example of survivorship bias. I don't think there's ever been an era in TV when a majority of shows made it to their second season, and networks would often cancel shows mid-season. (Hell, Lucasfilm fell victim to this in their first few efforts to get into TV.) The lesser number of episodes per season does make cancellations feel especially rough though.
There is definitely some survivorship bias there, but it's also undeniable that shows are not running as long anymore either.
Just to pick on the one I find most interesting, the 2005-2006 tv season had three juggernauts; Grey's Anatomy, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Supernatural. Supernatural ran for 15 seasons, It's Always Sunny is 16 seasons deep now, and Grey's is about to go into its 21st season.
But that season also saw the debut of
- Criminal Minds, which ran for 15 seasons, and was then revived by Paramount+, and is now 17 seasons deep
- Bones, which ran for 12 seasons
- How I Met Your Mother, which ran for 9 seasons
- The Office, which ran for 9 seasons
- Weeds, which ran for 8 seasons
- Medium, which ran for 7 seasons
- The Closer, which ran for 7 seasons
- And finally, American Dad, which is going into its 19th season
Sure, there are plenty of shows in that TV season that got cancelled after a season, but what are the chances of any show that premiered in the 2023-2024 TV season hitting the lower tier of 7 seasons that the 2005-2006 shows hit, let alone the upper tier of 15 seasons or more? It hasn't completely disappeared, but there's definitely way, way fewer shows crossing that threshold now than there used to be.
(I definitely don't think we're ever going to see a streaming show hit the 10 season mark, which feels like part of a bigger conversation.)
I crunched the numbers (read: did a little wiki research) and the longest running streaming show is a tie between OITNB, Grace & Frankie, and Bosch, all of which ran for 7 seasons.
Alright there we go! Glad I got one of the three tied for first.
I know there are talks, though of course nothing is official, of Slow Horses adapting all nine Slough House books. But they've only been renewed for 5. So definitely not counting any chickens yet.
I know it's two wholly different shows, with different producers, distributors, and audiences, but The Acolyte, designed to be a multi-season show, getting only one season, while Shogun, designed to be a one-season show, getting a renewal, feels like nobody can tell what executives are thinking.
I haven't been watching any of the Star Wars spin-offs, so I was surprised to learn The Acolyte had a season budget of $180 million. I don't know if that's typical of the Star Wars Television Universe or indeed scifi/fantasy TV budgets more generally - either way it seems pretty damn steep, and way more pressure than any new show should bear in its first season.
Real shame, this was one of the best SW shows. I knoe the budgets dont really allow this, but seems we would all be better off if we let spin off star war shows have a little more of a niche genre audience, rather than meet these expectations of topping the charts for 8 weeks. Remember when Agents of SHIELD got like 7 seasons? Or BSG, star trek, etc
Poor Star Wars, every time they try and shake things up it's either met with universal hatred (i.e. The Last Jedi), lower numbers (Andor), or both (Acolyte).
Regardless of how I feel about those examples, they're all at least a little more interesting than other projects on account of their ambition. Worried Lucasfilm will take the wrong lessons from this experiment assuming it was the result of too much new stuff rather than stagnant pacing (fewer episodes and/or binge model might've helped Acolyte).
On the other hand, how much plot can you put in 8 episodes without making it feel overstuffed and rushed, especially when you're introducing a whole new range of characters as well?
Thanks for talking about this, Myles. I wrote something about the cancellation of this show on Threads, and it was my first experience getting trolled on that platform. I had to do a bunch of blocking, something I have rarely had to do. Let’s be clear: woke just means not a straight white cast with a male lead. I mean, that’s so boring to view things that way!!! (In addition to racist/misogynist) There’s also a second group who throws a tantrum if Star Wars veers from their childhood memories. Like, what? The Acolyte had its flaws, but I really got into it when Manny Jacinto’s character was revealed. He was such a great character! I hope he can pop up in another iteration because he’s a keeper.
I assume this tweet from @noolivesthnx last night was related to The Acolyte being canceled:
TV 20 years ago: "it starts out clunky but if you suffer through the first 45 episodes it starts to almost get good!"
TV now: "If this 8hrs of tv doesn't break all viewing records within the first 20 minutes of its release we're going to shoot the cast"
Also I noticed yesterday was Manny Jacinto's birthday, so that's extra rough.
It's cute, but also an example of survivorship bias. I don't think there's ever been an era in TV when a majority of shows made it to their second season, and networks would often cancel shows mid-season. (Hell, Lucasfilm fell victim to this in their first few efforts to get into TV.) The lesser number of episodes per season does make cancellations feel especially rough though.
There is definitely some survivorship bias there, but it's also undeniable that shows are not running as long anymore either.
Just to pick on the one I find most interesting, the 2005-2006 tv season had three juggernauts; Grey's Anatomy, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and Supernatural. Supernatural ran for 15 seasons, It's Always Sunny is 16 seasons deep now, and Grey's is about to go into its 21st season.
But that season also saw the debut of
- Criminal Minds, which ran for 15 seasons, and was then revived by Paramount+, and is now 17 seasons deep
- Bones, which ran for 12 seasons
- How I Met Your Mother, which ran for 9 seasons
- The Office, which ran for 9 seasons
- Weeds, which ran for 8 seasons
- Medium, which ran for 7 seasons
- The Closer, which ran for 7 seasons
- And finally, American Dad, which is going into its 19th season
Sure, there are plenty of shows in that TV season that got cancelled after a season, but what are the chances of any show that premiered in the 2023-2024 TV season hitting the lower tier of 7 seasons that the 2005-2006 shows hit, let alone the upper tier of 15 seasons or more? It hasn't completely disappeared, but there's definitely way, way fewer shows crossing that threshold now than there used to be.
(I definitely don't think we're ever going to see a streaming show hit the 10 season mark, which feels like part of a bigger conversation.)
Great point. I wonder what is the longest running streaming show? I know Orange is the New Black had 7 seasons. That's got to be up there.
I crunched the numbers (read: did a little wiki research) and the longest running streaming show is a tie between OITNB, Grace & Frankie, and Bosch, all of which ran for 7 seasons.
Alright there we go! Glad I got one of the three tied for first.
I know there are talks, though of course nothing is official, of Slow Horses adapting all nine Slough House books. But they've only been renewed for 5. So definitely not counting any chickens yet.
I know it's two wholly different shows, with different producers, distributors, and audiences, but The Acolyte, designed to be a multi-season show, getting only one season, while Shogun, designed to be a one-season show, getting a renewal, feels like nobody can tell what executives are thinking.
Yeah the whole streaming TV model feels kind broken recently.
Re: what shows to cover, it's probably too late but I'll make one last pitch for Slow Horses :)
I'd also vote for The Diplomat, but as a Netflix binge-release show, that doesn't really work for EM.
I am probably too late as well but I would love coverage on Pachinko’s second season.
I haven't been watching any of the Star Wars spin-offs, so I was surprised to learn The Acolyte had a season budget of $180 million. I don't know if that's typical of the Star Wars Television Universe or indeed scifi/fantasy TV budgets more generally - either way it seems pretty damn steep, and way more pressure than any new show should bear in its first season.
Real shame, this was one of the best SW shows. I knoe the budgets dont really allow this, but seems we would all be better off if we let spin off star war shows have a little more of a niche genre audience, rather than meet these expectations of topping the charts for 8 weeks. Remember when Agents of SHIELD got like 7 seasons? Or BSG, star trek, etc
Poor Star Wars, every time they try and shake things up it's either met with universal hatred (i.e. The Last Jedi), lower numbers (Andor), or both (Acolyte).
Regardless of how I feel about those examples, they're all at least a little more interesting than other projects on account of their ambition. Worried Lucasfilm will take the wrong lessons from this experiment assuming it was the result of too much new stuff rather than stagnant pacing (fewer episodes and/or binge model might've helped Acolyte).
It does make it hard to care about this crap anymore, although perhaps there is a good lesson about not drawing the plot out so much?
On the other hand, how much plot can you put in 8 episodes without making it feel overstuffed and rushed, especially when you're introducing a whole new range of characters as well?
Thanks for talking about this, Myles. I wrote something about the cancellation of this show on Threads, and it was my first experience getting trolled on that platform. I had to do a bunch of blocking, something I have rarely had to do. Let’s be clear: woke just means not a straight white cast with a male lead. I mean, that’s so boring to view things that way!!! (In addition to racist/misogynist) There’s also a second group who throws a tantrum if Star Wars veers from their childhood memories. Like, what? The Acolyte had its flaws, but I really got into it when Manny Jacinto’s character was revealed. He was such a great character! I hope he can pop up in another iteration because he’s a keeper.
Argh, I was so looking forward to season 2!