Why Feature Length T.V. Episodes Need to Stop

Ever since the dawn of Netflix, maybe even before with shows like The Wire and The Sopranos, television has become the go to place to tell dramatic stories. Actors who have made their name on the silver screen dump the superhero blockbuster fest for a chance at staring in a limited series on a premium network, written by the latest hotshot writer all to flex their acting muscles. Hell Matthew Mcconaughey got an unprecedented second wind in his career because of  a T.V. series which enabled him to cut loose bringing out whatever hidden talents that was suppressed. You ask someone 10 years ago if Matthew would win an Oscar for Best Actor they'd spit in your face for saying something so offensive. But T.V. is still launching careers and right now at its peak it's wonderful. To see dramatic stories with huge budgets told over time with compelling actors and writing, from the slow burn of The Night Of to the fast fury of Narcos, most of it is truly addicting entertainment to watch. Except for the fucking movie length episodes.

Ask yourself why you watch television shows in the first place and I'll bet one of the reasons you land on is it's a short entertainment format you enjoy in weekly doses.

Like ecstasy.

30 minute shows to get in a laugh before work. 45 minutes to turn your brain off and let fake detectives do all the hard work while you stay around for the characters you love quibble about each other. Then once it's over, you decide if another hour is worth it or you're finally going to work on that script you've been thinking about all year. The bottom line is it's quick. Touch-N-Go. If you wanted to watch a movie, you'd watch a movie. If you wanted to sit down for an hour and 30 minutes straight you wouldn't watch an episode of your favorite show. But recently T.V. shows have gotten so cocky that they feel like in order to properly send off a show or introduce a new one they need some extra time. Time that was never a factor years ago.

The beauty of television is the magic of telling a story over a period of time in short segments. Writers who began to write feature length scrips take away that magic. They end up shoving scenes and dialogue that would normally be on the cutting room floor inside the finale because they basically can now. Look at The Get Down and it's bloated budget because of Netflix and it's fucking ties to the World Bank (ok that's a lie but it feels like it). Ozark is s a brilliant show. First episode had me on pins and needles it was so good. But I put off watching the finale because it was an hour and 20 minutes which is the length of a Sundance movie. I had to adjust my brain for movie length time with southern hick Beth and sociopath Marty. And it sounds like first world problems but I couldn't just sit down and watch it because it was so long and I had busy shit to do. What a terrible plight. But I couldn't enjoy it like any other Ozark episode. I had to "plan" to view it. Same with True Detective and Westworld and Game of Thrones etc.  Television studios are raking in cash and the budgets are exploding, giving writers the keys to do whatever they feel like and its ruining the creative aspects of the shows. If your show is regularly an hour and you can't finish your story in that same amount of time, something is off baby girl. Nobody needs an extra length introduction into a show either. I'm talking to you Preacher.

Let's go back to our regular schedule programming and remember what makes television great in the first place. Short bursts of entertainment. Insecure is the perfect example of this. Fast, fresh, funny & the perfect length to enjoy before my work day begins. T.V. should continue to embrace it's format and the digital realm it now exists in. Who has time to finish the True Detective Season 2 finale (if you got that far) on their phone if the only time to yourself is the 40 minute bus ride home? Please Mr. Television don't go forth on this trend of veering off into feature world and competing with it. Because at the end of the day, the silver screen will always win. Because Dunkirk...duh.