Netflix Could Do This… But I Hope They Don’t

I recently read an article by Scott Meslow where he stated that it’s time for Netflix to stop acting like television. He is referring to the fact that even original Netflix shows like House of Cards still fit into a traditional one hour time format. Well actually, they are closer to 45-50 minutes because they don’t have any commercials (at least not on Netflix). Scott also states that the concept of episodes and seasons isn’t really relevant to Netflix.

Scott paints a picture of a Netflix original show that has no television boundaries. He suggests that “someone could create a show where one episode is 75 minutes long, and the next episode is 15 minutes long.” He goes on to suggest that Netflix shows need not follow any kind of release schedule and that they are free to release an episode “every week, or every month, or every holiday—or at random, turning every new installment into a welcome surprise.”

And then there’s the quote by House of Card showrunner (I’m not sure what this means) Beau Willimon who said that he has “toyed with the idea for a show that doesn’t have episodes at all. That would simply be one eight-hour stream for a season, and the viewer decides when they want to pause, if at all.”

I hope this never happens

There is no reason Netflix couldn’t do any of this. But I hope they don’t. I could live with the irregular release schedule. That wouldn’t bother me so much. And I don’t need every episode to be the same length although skipping from 75 minutes to 15 minutes might disrupt the flow of the show.

What really bothers me is Beau Willimon’s suggestion of an eight-hour stream. You see, when I sit down to watch Netflix, I need boundaries. I need to know that I’m only in it for 50 minutes. I need to tell myself that my treadmill workout is over only when the next episode of Breaking Bad ends.

Give me an eight-hour stream of a Netflix show and leave it up to me when to pause? Puh-lease. That’s not gonna happen.

You may never see me again

And what about the cliffhanger? I know there’s very little difference between eight one-hour episodes and one eight-hour stream but at least at the end of each one-hour episode, I have to make a conscious decision to watch the next episode. If you give me a continuous eight-hour stream, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t see me again for eight hours.

What do you think? Would flip-flopping between 75-minute and 15-minute episodes bother you? Would you be ok with doing away with the whole concept of episodes and seasons? Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.