Series Like Stranger Things and Yellowjackets Are Growing Overextended. I Advocate For the Single-Season Series
It's an all-too-familiar feeling. The second series of your top TV show premieres online, and optimism runs high. The initial run ended so perfectly: narrative threads were dangled enticingly, and a protagonist met a mysterious end – or so it seemed. During the hiatus, you were perusing Reddit threads with fellow enthusiasts to decode subtle references illuminating what would happen next.
But the new season opener falls flat. It feels like the entire writers’ room has been fired and replaced by artificial intelligence. In episode two, a beloved actor's character acts in a way that viewers recognize as jarringly uncharacteristic. By episode five, it becomes obvious the creators forgot regarding plot points heavily emphasized earlier. As the underwhelming ending arrives, you silently wish that the show had just been cancelled.
The Curse of Prolonged Runs
Wishing for cancellation can only be retrospective; viewers usually oppose premature cancellations. Look at Kaos, a delightfully satirical take on Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum, which Netflix dropped over poor ratings. Yet audiences can console themselves that the show's quality wasn't tarnished by a weak follow-up.
Considering the thriller Yellowjackets, I currently desire it was a one-season story. The first season boasted an inventive concept, and every episode hit the right marks. A 1996 plane crash strands a female soccer team in wilderness. Top-notch cast members (with Juliette Lewis, Lauren Ambrose and Sophie Thatcher) depicted the survivors in dual eras. Numerous awards recognition occurred, and the showrunners proudly announced there would be five seasons to develop the plot thoroughly. But last week, it was announced that it would end with season four. I felt grateful as a viewer.
Young actors prepare for Stranger Things' next chapter.
Story decisions have weakened the core. Instead of focusing on the survivors' reintegration, and their struggle with traumatic memories, the story grew padded and excessive. This involved a wearying pattern of bringing in and focusing on new characters (like the underdeveloped daughter Callie) who did nothing for the broader story. It's disappointing, and watching a beloved program become tedious is sad.
A Common Phenomenon
But it’s not only Yellowjackets. Programs including Emily in Paris, House of the Dragon, Squid Game and Stranger Things lack original impact, and settled into familiar patterns. At times, programs must stop while successful.
Indeed, pleasures exist in single-season stories. Looking at Sharp Objects, I May Destroy You, and Adolescence, producers recognize appropriate conclusion points. However, the magic fades with series like Big Little Lies, first conceived as self-contained, return repeatedly with declining quality. Perhaps Adolescence's team reconsidered a second season.
The Ideal Model
I preferred Yellowjackets as a limited run, residing permanently in our thoughts, cliffhangers and all. My top series ever followed this pattern. The classic teen series, the quintessential youth program, ran for just one year yet felt epic in scale: the personalities were complex and inconsistent, the cinematography was perfectly autumnal, and the conversations avoided cliched adolescent writing. The conclusion provided no neat resolution, yet this mirrors real life accurately of never having real, definitive answers to the open-ended questions from your teenage years. After 18 perfect episodes (and one dodgy one), I felt devastated and created my own continuation to answer some of those questions. Though stored on outdated technology, it demonstrates television's powerful connection.
The Unique Connection
If writers recall the sacred audience-series connection, more programmes can bow out when the time is right.
- Priya Elan focuses on cultural topics.
