A 'Limited Series' of Unfortunate Events
POST #20 + Audience Feedback! Also, talking streaming TV and the future of Star Wars. Plus a Weekend Streaming Recommendation
POST #20: FEEDBACK FORM
This marks my 20th post, and thus my 20th week, of the Kinosexual! The past 20 weeks of writing content have been amazing. Thank you all for reading and helping this newsletter grow. I’d love to get your feedback on the Kino so far, so please fill out the (anonymous) Google Form! (please please please)
A few weeks ago I wrote about how streaming has changed film, but it’s had an even larger impact on television. Just like with movies, streaming gives studios flexibility in how they produce TV shows. They’re no longer limited by time slots on cable, no longer contingent on ratings and on ad-placement. Streaming has offered television far more creative flexibility. Their platform, their rules.
… Maybe even to a fault. I think TV and movies are (and should be) fundamentally different forms of content. They’re designed to tell different stories. A trend I’ve noticed, however, is streaming TV shows evolving to basically tell a movies-worth of content over the course of 6-8 episodes, rather than prioritizing a contained storyline in each episode.
Stream of Consciousness
Streaming TV seemingly doesn’t want to be TV anymore either. The upcoming Stranger Things season features two back-to-back 1.5 hour episodes, followed by a whopping 2.5 hour episode! Just make a movie at that point! Not to mention the havoc that binge-watching has wreaked on our ability to actually process content.
Streaming TV has also displaced the film experience. Take Star Wars, for instance. Star Wars used to be a franchise defined by the big screen. It’s almost synonymous with the theater experience. I remember seeing lines stretch around theaters when The Force Awakens released. These movies were cultural phenomena in and of themselves.
A Galaxy Far Far Away …
But even Star Wars has changed how it approaches content. With the success of The Mandalorian (and the flop of Star Wars movie Solo), it has doubled down heavily on the TV show space, pumping out limited series after limited series to expand the universe.
As much as I appreciate the availability of content, I can’t help but feel the universe shrinking with each show. Part of the appeal of Star Wars was its awe-inspiring scale and mystery, which I think can only really be captured on the big screen.
These TV shows feel small in comparison. What 8 season limited series will ever compare to classics like Empire Strikes Back or Revenge of the Sith? The closest they can get, no matter how good they are as TV shows, is harkening back to these moments (a Luke Skywalker cameo in Mandalorian, a meek Vader-Obi Wan fight in Kenobi).
Show me the Money
I also don’t understand how streaming TV series are profitable. The budgets for some of these episodes alone rival entire movie budgets. Season 2 of The Mandalorian averaged out to ~$15 million an episode. Disney’s Marvel shows are even more egregious. WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye all averaged a staggering $25 million an episode, making an entire season equivalent to a full movie. (and don’t get me started on Netflix’s overblown budgets)
But these shows alone don’t generate revenue — they don’t get ad revenue like network TV nor do they generate ticket sales like movies. They really only serve to drive users to subscribe, and as content becomes disaggregated across platforms, the competition gets even fiercer. It’s no wonder Netflix is going under quick.
But streaming TV seems like it has real staying power. If this is the next generation of content, what are the best examples of streaming TV shows you’ve seen?
Weekend Streaming Recommendation:
Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Available on HBO Max
Three amateur bank robbers plan to hold up a bank when everything suddenly goes wrong. This American classic might be Al Pacino’s best performance. Also, for a heist/hostage movie, this is laugh-out-loud funny throughout. Just phenomenal writing and pacing. And all based on a true story! Check it out ASAP.
FEEDBACK FORM :D
That’s all for today! See you all again next week. Until then, please get in touch if you have any thoughts or suggestions you’d like to share. If you want to keep up with what I’m watching, follow me on Letterboxd @atharv_gupta.
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