How have TV series shifted from stand-alone episodes to complex, ongoing story arcs?
In 2020, it was estimated that nearly 80% of scripted television series employed ongoing, serialized storytelling rather than the episodic format that once dominated. Surprising, isn’t it? Or maybe not. If you’ve spent any time binging through shows in recent years, you probably appreciate a good, ongoing story arc. You can’t just drop into an episode without so much as a thought about what happened last week. Except, of course, for the odd relationship subplot that meandered along in the background. Now, though, shows seem to demand attention, expect you to remember precisely what a character said three episodes ago, down to the intonation. It’s all very complicated, and let’s be honest, sometimes a bit straining. Still, preferred over stand-alone episodes.
Of course, there are reasons for this. But before we get to those, think about how early television worked. There was an unspoken contract between the audience and showrunner. Each episode would be self-contained, a neat little package tied with a bow. If you missed an episode, no big deal. The next episode is a story for itself anyway. People didn’t consume nearly as much content as now, so the focus was not on arcs, but rather delivering a short story and leaving you to your life. Nothing complicated, nothing to pull you down into some existential quagmire.
Why Do We Prefer Stories Nowadays?
In the olden days (no one wants to admit the 80s were 40 years ago), people watched TV as a communal experience, everyone huddled around the box at a specific time on a specific day. Today, we are binge-watching. That is one of the reasons for the shift toward serialization. You’re not going to sit down and watch one isolated episode of your favorite TV show and call it a night. You’re diving in for several episodes at a time. Much like reading a book. Turning page after page, following the same story. Serialized shows have been designed to be consumed that way. It also makes the story more appealing outside the TV show. Many popular shows now find their narratives repurposed. Video games are one such example. Unexpectedly, casino games as well. This genre is successfully offering themes based on well-loved series, so platforms like Casino Days for Ontario Players often feature titles inspired by popular TV franchises. We’re used to seeing our favorite characters and stories relived in other formats. And to make that possible, shows need to have serialized storytelling.
What Made Studios Switch to Story Arcs?
The shift to ongoing story arcs didn’t happen overnight of course. Go back to the 1980s and 1990s. You had Cheers and Frasier, but then shows like Twin Peaks began to creep in, adding layers of mystery and complexity. This meant there were questions after each episode. Something not necessarily happening with stand-alone episodes shows. But then the 2000s arrived with The Sopranos and Lost and Breaking Bad and suddenly we were committing to a journey. But it makes sense.
There were no DVDs, VCRs, or streaming services back in the day. If you wanted to catch a show, you had to tune in when the network aired it, no exceptions. If you missed an episode, you’d be stuck waiting for a rerun, which could take months at best. Designing a show where you had to watch every episode in the right order was a risky move for studios, because if you missed a few episodes, chances were you might just stop watching altogether. Second, TV’s real cash cow was syndication. Networks made serious money by selling 24-episode seasons to stations worldwide.
But now, with streaming in mind, you can watch anything, anytime, however you like. The old problems are no longer an issue for studios and networks. There’s no need to crank out 24 episodes per season just for syndication profits. Companies can rather focus on shorter seasons of 10-12 episodes that allow for compact, cinematic storytelling while keeping costs manageable at the same time. Which works better for writers as well. Writing a story arc for 24 episodes might be problematic in the sense of dynamics. But 10 episodes and you’re more likely to successfully pull a good continuous narrative spread over the season (which is what we see in most streaming series today).
