From ‘Bridgerton’ to ‘Emily in Paris’, why Netflix’s two-part seasons are struggling to succeed
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: This year, Netflix dropped the latest season of some of its most popular shows. Excitement among fans was at its peak until Netflix decided to ruin it for us.
The release of 'Bridgerton' Season 3 was spread across two parts which premiered on May 16 and June 13, 2024, respectively. 'Emily in Paris' followed a similar release pattern as it dropped Part 1 of Season 4 on August 15 and Part 2 on September 12. The shows, however, are struggling to match up the success of their previous seasons, and intriguingly, the writing of the shows has nothing to do with it.
Netflix is experimenting with its release pattern
Let's all agree that some of us prefer Netflix over other streaming platforms because of its one-go release policy. All the episodes released together help us watch the show at our own pace. Some of us like to binge it in one day while some enjoy it over the weekend or may stretch it for next few days. Sadly, Netflix seems to be snatching away this luxury from us.
Netflix has picked up this new habit of breaking up seasons into parts. It appears as if they are dangling a shiny new toy just out of reach, making us chase after it in pieces. They want to keep the buzz alive, like 'House of the Dragon', or 'The Boys'. 'Brigderton' too has a fanbase loyal enough to wait, but they come from a place where they were offered the entire season at one go. They sure are ready to wait for a season for two years, but splitting it into two parts is extremely frustrating.
Netflix built its empire on the idea of devouring an entire season in one go, right? And we all have become binge-watchers now. We were annoyed enough when Netflix did it with the finale of 'Money Heist' in 2021, keeping a gap of three months between both volumes. We couldn't forgive Netflix for spoiling our favorite show for us and now it doesn't seem to stop.
Why Netflix's split release is worse than weekly release
By dividing a season into two parts, Netflix is dragging them over months. If you sit back and think, the weekly release pattern adopted by other platforms like Hulu and Apple TV+ is much better. Sure, fans have to wait every week for an episode to drop. But at least, there's continuity.
The split of the season and leaving a gap of a month or two, only pulls our interest away. Take 'Emily in Paris’, for example. It's a show you would want to breeze through in one sitting, getting lost in the glitzy, romantic whirlwind of Emily’s Parisian escapades. It did the job until we were forced to stop mid-way and suddenly the magic was gone. Same goes with Colin and Penelope's romance in 'Bridgerton' Season 3. Just as we were getting swept up in their steamy love story, the season hit pause with that split. By the time Part 2 rolled around, the magic had faded, and those butterflies were long gone. The only way to recapture the feeling was to rewatch Part 1 all over again. It did help Netflix gain some extra views but at what cost!
Netflix needs to rethink its release policy
In an attempt to chase fan conversations around their show, Netflix must not lose its USP. It must learn from the success of its own shows like 'Squid Game' which also has another season coming up this December (please, don't ruin this one too).
Back when TV shows were released weekly, it made sense. But streaming changed the game by giving us the binge model and Netflix has been a pioneer in it. It feels like Netflix is trying to have it both ways – but it’s not working out as smoothly as they’d hoped.
Our only plea to Netflix is to not mess with the magic. It’s already hard enough waiting years between seasons. Don’t make us wait even more once we finally get them!