The first series spawned from the streaming era that had me binge-watching was Stranger Things, and for good reason. Its characters, soundtrack, and storylines are prime nostalgia fodder, yet its premise is original enough to keep you enthralled, a winning formula. However, with its Season 4 premiere, Stranger Things taught us all that binge-watching is the worst way to consume media.
Though I pride myself on having a great memory, I had to rewatch Season 3 in its entirety because I only had a vague recollection of its events. After sitting through eight episodes in preparation for the then-upcoming Season 4 launch, I was already tired of Stranger Things.
I blame the binge-watching model for this lack of recall and enthusiasm. Watching nearly 10 hours of any series in a single sitting is no way to thoroughly enjoy it.
Stranger Things’ New Schedule Makes Sense
With the fifth and final season’s upcoming and highly anticipated release, I’ll similarly have to crash-course my way through Season 4, not only because it’s been three years since we’ve seen new episodes, but also because I binge-watched both Stranger Things volumes in real time. I remember the big events and reveals, but the granular details are foggy, and those details matter.
Stranger Things Season 5 is stepping away from the binge-watching model in a way that makes sense for the show’s staying power. Instead of an eight-episode drop that encourages rabid fans to binge with blind devotion, the episodes will be released in a way that allows for anticipation, speculation, and conversation about what’s coming next.
Four episodes will come out on Thanksgiving weekend, three on Christmas Day, and the finale on New Year’s Eve. If you work a corporate office job, you can watch the first four episodes over Thanksgiving and then talk about them at the water cooler while your boss in the corner office contemplates switching to one-ply toilet paper as a cost-cutting measure.
Slow-Drip Releases Lead To Better Engagement
We live in a media landscape that thrives on constant engagement. The binge-watching model gets asses in seats whenever a new series drops eight or ten episodes at once. But this form of overstimulation has viewers constantly searching for the next binge, turning lightning in a bottle into a flash in the pan. Most fans will plow through a season of Stranger Things, or any series for that matter, in a weekend, talk about it briefly, and move on.
What’s next? Another series? And then another? In a month’s time, Stranger Things becomes a thing of the past, requiring another binge to jog your memory. But after that, most people will have had their fill before moving on without ever looking back.
The Binge-Watching Model Has Run Its Course
I think the Duffer Brothers are aware of this fatigue and are using the new release schedule to their advantage. The new episodes are strategically planned to drop when people gather, talk about what they’ve been watching, and speculate about what’s to come. Now there’s a reason to keep coming back. Memes will surface not just for a couple of days after the premiere, but for weeks.
By stepping away from the binge-watching model, Stranger Things will effectively become its own hype machine, keeping viewers anxiously waiting for the next drop and talking about it while they wait. In the coming weeks, I’ll be slowly rewatching the series in its entirety, a couple of episodes at a time. After all, it’s been nearly a decade since its series premiere, and Season 4 already feels like a distant, fragmented memory.
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