Cable Series Vent

[JoiseyMom]

I love cable and the series they have on! True Blood, Royal Pains, Weeds, etc....

Why the heck is a season only like 12 episodes??

It's so depressing...you just start getting into the season, it's going great..then before you know it, it's over and you have to wait an entire year!!

 

[phillmolly]

couldn't agree with you more!

 

[FireDancer]

I don't mind the short season, especially since they usually run two per year (summer/winter or spring/fall). I think a lot of shows run way too many episodes and quickly run out of good story lines. Look at the British Office, it is way better then the one here and lasted a grand total of 14 episodes.

 

[bicker]

I love cable and the series they have on! True Blood, Royal Pains, Weeds, etc....
Why the heck is a season only like 12 episodes??

It's probably a tie between limited imagination (many people complain about how repetitive or dull television series that provide more than 12-15 episodes per year get), and money (there is more money to be made making two series at 12-13 episodes a piece, and then rerunning them).

However, note that Royal Pains (and Burn Notice, for that matter) has 18 episodes, not 12. They're just not going to run the last 6 episodes of the season up against the Big 4 broadcast networks fall television season.

 

[RachaelA]

True Blood's episodes are longer than normal cable shows. They range anywhere from 48-57ish minutes long where normal cable shows are around 43. So at least we are getting longer episodes of it!

 

[Carly_Roach]

I don't mind the short season, especially since they usually run two per year (summer/winter or spring/fall). I think a lot of shows run way too many episodes and quickly run out of good story lines. Look at the British Office, it is way better then the one here and lasted a grand total of 14 episodes.

Typically true, except Big Love only seems to happen once a year. I think some of the others like True Blood and Dexter are only once a year, too.

However, I'd rather have 12 weeks of hour-long (or almost an hour long) shows that are filled with great writing, excellent stories, shocking twists and fantastic acting than 26 weeks of ho-hum boring, totally predictable storylines that are filled with 25 minutes of commercials.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I don't mind the short season, especially since they usually run two per year (summer/winter or spring/fall). I think a lot of shows run way too many episodes and quickly run out of good story lines. Look at the British Office, it is way better then the one here and lasted a grand total of 14 episodes.

I agree with you about the British shows. I get into a lot of British comedies and their seasons are generally only 6 to 8 episodes long. When you're used to a lot of episodes it can be kind of maddening. I do notice, however, that their episodes seem to all be at a high quality, whereas here in the States one season can have a lot of great episodes, but a lot of stinkers too.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

I'm liking Degrassi It is canadian.
It is 48 episodes a season right now, they just increased it.

They did a 6 week special where they show 30 minute episodes on monday-thursday.

Then they go on a break from end of august to october
then they come back on regular time, every friday only for 1 hour episodes.

make it last! :]

 

[kaytieeldr]

I know about Royal Pains (waving hand wildly and waiting to be chosen... no? Okay, I'll answer anyway).

It's a summer series. Because the Hamptons is a largely summer destination - with, granted, many year-round residents - more happens there in the summer so the series airs in summer. Plus, they film on location and it's coollllllllllllllld other times of the year. That's why they did two episodes in "Cuba" this season

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I don't mind the short season, especially since they usually run two per year (summer/winter or spring/fall). I think a lot of shows run way too many episodes and quickly run out of good story lines. Look at the British Office, it is way better then the one here and lasted a grand total of 14 episodes.

True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, they're all only on once a year.

I love, love, love British shows and comedies. The thing that drives me batty is that 1.) they are shorter and 2.) they sometimes skip production years!

Like take Doc Martin for instance. I love this show. If you're lucky, you get 8 or 9 episodes but they didn't film Doc Martin in 2008 and they didn't film in 2010 but are on schedule to resume filming in 2011. And this isn't the only show I've seen do this. The Vicar of Dibley is another series that had sporadic filming. I'm sure there is a good reason for this? But it's annoying none the less.

 

[purplegirl247]

I'm watching the British show Primeval now (kinda sorta like Jurassic Park, except the dinosaurs appear here through a time portal, not cloned or anything). The first "series" (they don't call it a season for whatever reason) was 6 episodes, the second was 7, and the third was 10. The weird thing is, they're filming both series four AND five now. Why don't you just make it longer and call it one season? Very confusing to us American viewers.

 

[browneyes106]

Another reason cable shows don't run the 22 episode format that broadcast networks is budget reasons. Also the writing on cable shows tends to be better because staff writers are given more time off to develop storylines during hiatus periods. Julianna Margulies recently mentioned this in interview. There are some broadcast shows that do well with the 22 episode format but most don't do well.

 

[FireDancer]

True Blood, Dexter, Weeds, they're all only on once a year.

I was talking more about the USA/TNT/FX shows like Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar, etc. I don't have HBO or Showtime so had no idea about their shows.

 

[CourtasanSatine]

The split season thing can be annoying (this coming from a Leverage, Burn Notice, White Collar and Psych addict)!

 

[hellokitty86]

The only one I watch is Big Love and I hate how its only on once a year. I find myself having to watch the other seasons before the new season premieres because I forget everything that happens.

This past season it only had 9 episodes too which stunk but I will stick it out because its a great show.

 

[disney_mommy]

I think it has to do with the length of the shows. A half-hour show probably costs the same to run for 22 episodes as an hour-long to run 12 episodes. But still, it's a looooooong wait between seasons!