TV Tuesday: Dropping Shows

[yourlibrarian]

This article from 2022 talks about how much content we now have.

"The number of available series on broadcast, cable and streaming has increased every year since 2008 save for 2020’s pandemic-impacted production slowdown, with 2021 setting a new record of 1,923 series. Streaming now accounts for over half (51.5%) of all original series in the U.S., a monumental jump from the 12.9% share in 2016."

Even if the number of new shows dropped since 2021, that's still a LOT of new shows. How often do you finish a series?

Poll #29840 Dropping Shows

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 30

View Respondents

How many of these are true for you?

View Answers

I usually finish any show I've watched a season of
12 (40.0%)

I will give up on a show no matter how much I've watched of it
24 (80.0%)

I watch a lot of shows only in bits or individual episodes
7 (23.3%)

Finishing a show depends a lot on whether I have continuous access to it
17 (56.7%)

Which one of these MOST applies to your viewing?

View Answers

I usually finish any show I've watched a season of
6 (20.0%)

I will give up on a show no matter how much I've watched of it
14 (46.7%)

I watch a lot of shows only in bits or individual episodes
1 (3.3%)

Finishing a show depends a lot on whether I have continuous access to it
9 (30.0%)

Which one of these MOST applies to your viewing in the past 5 years?

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I rewatch a lot of shows
11 (36.7%)

I hardly ever rewatch anything
18 (60.0%)

Most of my viewing is rewatches
1 (3.3%)

How many shows does it often take to keep you watching?

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I will give a show one episode to grab me
5 (16.7%)

I will give a show 2-5 episodes to grab me
19 (63.3%)

I will give a show a whole season to grab me
6 (20.0%)

Which of these applies to your viewing?

View Answers

I will stop watching if a show changes substantially in tone from its first season
6 (20.0%)

I will stop watching if a show changes substantially in cast from its first season
8 (26.7%)

I will stop watching if a show changes substantially in premise from its first season
7 (23.3%)

I will stop watching if a show does not deliver on the storyline it began with
10 (33.3%)

I don't mind a lot of changes as long as I still like the show
25 (83.3%)

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I've have a friend who that applies to -- there have been at least two shows she ended up loving that she dropped after one episode and told me she wasn't at all interested. Later she told me she must not have been in the mood for them because when she was persuaded by someone else to give them another go, she ended up watching the whole thing.

That's an interesting point about how such a quantity of things to watch is more likely to make us become more passive about it. I could see that. I know that right now I'm not strongly engaged with much, largely due to a lack of time. But it's also that things I really enjoyed have ended. The exception in this past year was Andor. And even then it grew on me as the episodes went by. But it does seem quite possible that having a big reading list or watch list makes one write about or respond to those things less.