Max’s top ten series on April 19, 2025 The Xavierite
Before the introduction of streaming services and their mass popularity, TV was dependable. Shows came out at a certain time every week, and seasons lasted for months. When a season was over and a show was renewed, a new season could be expected within a year.
Now, streaming services have shifted how audiences watch TV and how series are released.
The most astounding example of this is “Stranger Things,” which premiered in 2016. In nine years, there’s only been four seasons. This would’ve been unheard of before streaming services.
There’s a long list of disadvantages to this new streaming model for both audiences and the streaming companies themselves.
For one, it lowers audience interest. If fans are forced to wait years to see another season of their favorite show, the appeal will be lost. By the time the season releases, most fans will hardly remember what happened in previous seasons.
Excitement lies in the waiting period, but only for so long. In the span of the years spent waiting, several new shows have time to rise in popularity and take over.
Similarly, shows that release seasons all at once also lose audience interest quickly. With the ability to binge, there’s no anticipation.
A good example of this is “the Bear.” Audiences and critics alike love “the Bear,” but it’s not talked about very often. It gets forgotten because it’s only relevant for as long as it takes fans to binge a new season.
Although “the Bear” does release a new season annually, it doesn’t feel that way because the excitement wears off after a week or so. If it released episodes weekly, the show’s relevancy could be extended by months.
One streaming service that seems to understand what audiences want is Max.
Max is known for releasing new episodes of its series on Sundays. The streaming service carefully schedules its year so there’s always at least one popular show airing at all times.
Most recently, “The White Lotus” captured audiences’ attention. On Sundays from February to April, the internet analyzed each episode and deliberated over who was destined to die in the finale.
Series can be popular when they’re binged by everyone at once, but they turn into cultural phenomena when everyone’s waiting for each episode and tuning in at the same time every week.
After “The White Lotus” premiered it’s fateful finale, “The Last of Us” quickly took its Sunday night slot.
Max knows how to keep people talking with consistency that doesn’t sacrifice quality.
“The White Lotus” and “The Last of Us” are both Emmy-winning series, and there’s no question that audiences enjoy them.
Despite this, they aren’t the kind of shows where audiences will be able to watch characters grow over the course of many seasons and years.
“The White Lotus” is an anthology series, meaning it has a different cast of characters for each season.
“The Last of Us” is an adaptation of a video game, which means it (most likely) won’t extend beyond the source material from the game.
Where are the shows with consistency, quality, and staying power?
One promising contender is Max’s sleeper hit from earlier this year: “The Pitt.”
“The Pitt” is a medical drama chronicling the lives of ER doctors during a particularly grueling fifteen-hour shift at a Pittsburgh hospital.
Medical dramas are hard to nail with authenticity and heart, but “The Pitt” does just that. The series managed to increase its viewership every week and is already confirmed for a season two premiering in January of next year.
If “The Pitt” released its whole season all at once, there would’ve been no time for word of mouth to popularize it. People started watching, had time to catch up, and then tuned in with millions of other viewers.
“Abbott Elementary” follows a similar schedule and has seen mass success from it.
First premiering in 2021, “Abbott Elementary” is currently airing its fourth season on ABC and Hulu.
The sit-com holds twenty-four Emmy nominations and four wins which solidifies it as one of the most successful comedies in recent years.
Its success comes from the quality cast and writing but also its marketing. A series airing a season every year with around twenty episodes a season is hard to come by in the age of streaming.
There’s really no excuses. If “Abbott Elementary” can provide both quality and quantity, why can’t other shows?
Audiences don’t have the patience streaming companies believe they do. Dedicated fans will probably tune in to season five of “Stranger Things,” but will the average viewer?
Especially with rumors of episodes as long as feature films, “Stranger Things” turns the mere idea of television on its head, and not for the better.
As streaming services continue to take over and dwarf the concept of cable television, the format of series we know and love becomes more obsolete.
It’s easy to see what audiences want by paying attention to what’s popular. Recently, series which call back to the golden age of television have skyrocketed in popularity.
Limited series and prestige television are sticking around, but they’re not the only thing viewers want to watch.
There is a large viewership for the weekly series with heart, humor, and drama. There’s a space for the sit-coms and the sometimes corny, soap opera-esque drama shows. Streaming companies tend to forget this, but audiences won’t let them.