Which is better for bingeing: weekly drops or full season dumps? Had a show fail on me because of the wait.

I started watching this crime drama on Hulu back in February, it was really good for the first 6 episodes. Then they switched to weekly releases for the second half of the season. I lost interest completely after waiting 3 weeks for episode 9 to drop. By the time the finale came out I had already moved on to another show. My friend says that's crazy, she prefers weekly because it builds suspense and she can talk about episodes with coworkers. But for me, the whole reason I binge is to get lost in a story without having to track release schedules. Has anyone else quit a show mid-run because of the release format? What side are you on with this?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_reed5d ago

Do you think part of the problem is that weekly releases work best when each episode has a strong cliffhanger or a slow burn that rewards the wait? That crime drama you mentioned might have had solid writing but not enough hooks to keep people coming back after six days. I totally get what you mean about forgetting clues in a mystery show, I was watching this noir thriller where a minor character's name was mentioned in episode 2 and by the time they came back in episode 8 I had to rewatch the whole first scene to remember who they even were. Full season dumps let you binge at your own speed and keep all those little details fresh, which is a huge deal for shows with complicated plots.

taylor_patel4d agoMost Upvoted

idk, is it really that serious though? I mean yeah forgetting a minor character's name is annoying but it's not like the show becomes unwatchable or anything. Maybe it's just me but I feel like people overthink this whole binge vs weekly thing when at the end of the day you just watch it however you want.

-1

kellygrant5d ago

Weekly drops work for some shows but it really depends on the genre and writing style. That crime drama you mentioned probably would've been way better as a full dump since those kinds of stories rely on momentum. Did you find yourself forgetting plot details or character names between weeks, or was it just the pace that killed your interest? Because for me, when a show has a complex mystery I start losing track of little clues after a week, and then the payoff falls flat when I finally watch the next episode.