What’s better: the weekly drop like HBO and Hulu or the binge your ass off of Netflix?

[Thewonandonly]

So this is a pretty simple question but I want to know what do you guys like better the quick binge or the slowly weekly drip of a series?

For me lately it's been that slow drip. I love when a show comes out weekly because each week I have something new to look forward to. Then if it's a big enough show I will have people to talk to about it to. Instead of when it's all dropped at once I'm scared to talk to people about it because they probably finished it and might spoil it. Plus if I finish it and they finish it then that's just one conversation about the series it may be a long one but it's just one. Yet, with the weekly drop you can have a ton of conversations about what the next episode will be or what you thought of this episode.

Then as a person that loved podcast man I love my recap podcast. Wether it be Chernobyl, game of thrones, or succession currently there is always a good podcast to listen to about that episode. While like the boys I only got one 40 minute segment that goes over it all... I want 40 minutes per episode!

So I am definitely on the side of the weekly drop what about you guys and why??

 

[Ebullientprism]

All at once so I can watch at my pace.

Even for weekly drops I often end up waiting till the season is done. Case in point The terror season 2.

 

[OtherWorldly]

Weekly . Conversation on show goes for a year

binge, the discussion on new season dies in a month

the wait in a weekly is the best time for discussion and anticipation.
Binge, makes the show forgettable after a month until next season

 

[chandoog]

I prefer all at once, I can watch it at my own pace. Binge or watch separately, the choice is in my hands.

 

[Deleted member 32822]

Weekly . Conversation on show goes for a year

binge, the discussion on new season dies in a month

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This. It took two years for Stranger Things 3 to come out and now no one even mentions it.

 

[NinjaScooter]

The binge, every time.

 

[Blue Skies]

Weekly
Feels more suspenseful like that

Also, when it's over, any one can binge it.

 

[Slayven]

Depends on the show, but i do like the weekly talk about an ep

 

[PostModernMaybe]

Weekly, I love the discussion that it brings. Shows that drop at once tend to have fragmented discussions since everyone's at different places and the convos die out after like a month.

 

[Thewonandonly]

This. It took two years for Stranger Things 3 to come out and now no one even mentions it.

Click to shrink...

Yup!! About to finish the boys and man know one seems to be talking about it anymore...

 

[Sweeney Swift]

Depends on the show

Like, I know I wouldn't have been able to take bingeing Chernobyl. I could barely take that with a week to breathe

 

[Patrick Klepek]

Some shows lend themselves to a dump. I wish more shows, esp the prestige ones, had a weekly format. I'd have loved to watch Stranger Things with everyone through the whole summer, instead of feeling behind in the conversation because it all happened in two days.

 

[CloseTalker]

Weekly. Binge is too much pressure to get it all done at once, and takes away so much of the cultural discussion. Game of Thrones releasing seasons at once would have fundamentally changed how popular it was

 

[BringBackSonics]

I like the week to week aspect 'water cooler discussion capability.

 

[KOfLegend]

It really depends on the show. I wouldn't want to binge shows like Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies and Euphoria, for example, because there's so much conversation to be had about the material in a specific episode. You kinda miss out on that if everyone's binging the whole season at the same time. For something like Stranger Things or OITNB, though, I'd rather binge, because single episodes on those shows are usually "less satisfying" in a sense. They're made with binging in mind.

 

[Invisible Cities]

All at once has destroyed fandom, in my opinion.

GoT is the last show that will ever have that vibe.

 

[Vic_Viper]

Im all for the binge watch! Ill usually save an entire season before watching nowadays. The only times I will watch a show weekly is for stuff like Game of Thrones. I would prefer them to be released all at once, but I get why they dont.

 

[OtherWorldly]

I also feel 2 shows which are good one weekly and one binge. The weekly one will be remembered and cherished for far longer because of the time discussing and the anticipating, you remember the time you were awaiting the finale of the good show. The binge one, not so much

 

[Mona]

all at once, i literally couldn't give a shit less about fandoms or conversations

 

[Deleted member 4976]

I love weekly most of the time because not only does it allow for discussion, but I get to digest and think about the episodes as well.

With watching it all at once, some of the events and moments blur together and lose a little bit of the impact.

 

[WhySoDevious]

All at once.

 

[Dysun]

I personally watch at my own pace, so week to week almost never happens. I prefer the entire season drop, but I recognize that it's bad for word of mouth/watercooler effect of drumming up interest in shows over time.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

In general, binge.

Though Twin Peaks Season 3 definitely benefited from weekly episodes.

 

[Pop-O-Matic]

Yeah, like others are saying weekly is just better for the community environment. The show stays in the consciousness and discussion longer and is more conductive to the "fun stuff" like shipping and theorycrafting. Besides, if you'd really prefer to binge you can just wait until the season's over.

 

[Rhaknar]

Binge.

 

[tucah]

Depends on the show. Sometimes I want to just binge five hours of a comedy in a row, I don't necessarily want to binge a drama where I want to discuss theories/have a conversation about it. I like Hulu's strategy - drop a few episodes the first week to get you invested, then one a week for the remainder of the season.

 

[Socivol]

I can see the benefits of both but i prefer the binge method. I usually wait until season are over to binge anyway.

 

[Chaitanya]

All at once. It keeps fandom in check. Nothing gets too big any more. Just watch enjoy and forget.

 

[hikarutilmitt]

I much prefer timed drops. The external factor of people being dicks and spoiling a show that literally just released and they binged over the weekend aside, having a shitton of a show to wade through all at once ends up making it harder for me to want to watch those episodes because now I have this feeling of needing to catch up, even if it's brand new. I've dropped shows I was enjoying because I got so far behind on them, so having a brand new show just dump on me all at once sucks. there's also no buildup of anticipation. It's also been, IMO, harming the cadence of shows being made to binge because you can cut off your episode wherever you feel like and pick it up next episode without a problem.

TL;DR: I'm old and want my stuff weekly or at most daily, dammit.

All at once. It keeps fandom in check. Nothing gets too big any more. Just watch enjoy and forget.

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Nothing gets too big? Are you seeing all of the Stranger Things crap that's around? It's like a damned movie event close to an MCU major release scale.

 

[Meows]

weekly, I like having discussions online without having to be worried about spoilers. I do not watch shows all at once even if they are available that way.

 

[gutshot]

All at once. I don't like participating in weekly discussions of an ongoing show since it tends to be overly critical and lessens my enjoyment of the show. I just want to watch it and form my own opinion once the season is over.

 

[AudioEppa]

I prefer all at once, I can watch it at my own pace. Binge or watch separately, the choice is in my hands.

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This

 

[Sectorseven]

I feel like there is more pressure to binge watch a show in order to keep up with other people and avoid spoilers.

Weekly lets you digest each episode.

 

[RowdyReverb]

Weekly . Conversation on show goes for a year

binge, the discussion on new season dies in a month

the wait in a weekly is the best time for discussion and anticipation.
Binge, makes the show forgettable after a month until next season

Click to shrink...

My thoughts exactly. Plus it gives you something to look forward to, like "oh it's Thursday already? My show is on tonight!" or, "Did you watch last night's episode yet? What do you think?

 

[ZedLilIndPum]

I'm old school, I like the weekly. I'm so behind on everything, though, that most stuff is effectively all at once anyway.

 

[Ploid 6.0]

All at once so I can watch at my pace.

Even for weekly drops I often end up waiting till the season is done. Case in point The terror season 2.

Click to shrink...

This is how I was planning to watch the last season of Game of Thrones, then episode 3 happened and everyone was talking about how weird it was and they couldn't see much. Then episode 4, so I just went in for the laughs and to be in on the memes at that point.

 

[Kitten Mittens]

Weekly is only good for huge shows, of which there aren't any currently running outside of Stranger Things. Show dumps are objectively better.

 

[janusff]

I like both

 

[zeitgeist]

I can't decide but both have perks.

My biggest argument against "all at once" is that websites review/summarize right away and throw images from the end of the season up on to the top of their pages.

 

[GK86]

All at once. I don't care about the discussions. And the brief times I popped into the GoT thread this past season just confirms it.

 

[Timbuktu]

Weekly.

 

[Deleted member 8468]

I like weekly. From a personal perspective I like the week to talk about whatever happened with friends, and mull over what the future might hold rather than just sit there and let the next one auto play.

From the perspective of the show I don't like how the structure of an episodes story is broken out across multiple episodes. Stranger Things season 3 and some of the Netflix marvel stuff did this where one episode is all set up and foreshadowing, and there's no actual climax or full reveal because it's held back for the next episode. I don't know if there are viewer engagement reasons they do this or if it's just a result of trying to make it a movie cut into episodes, but I think the shows are overall worse for this structural trend.

Also, I think it depends on the type of show and storytelling as well for what type of delivery system works better. Folks can probably point towards examples of good structure in 'binge-worthy' seasons of streaming stuff too, they aren't all guilty of what I described.

 

[greenbird]

All at once, prefer watching at my own pace. Also, it feels like less of an investment, especially is something drops in quality.

 

[thediamondage]

binge, no question. With a few exceptions i basically will only watch a season now after its all dropped. It roughs out the bad episodes so you easily forget them.

the only shitty thing is its much harder to talk about online since people will watch on way different schedules but ehhh, for the great shows it still works. The Boys for example has great forum chatter threads everywhere.

 

[Inugami]

Everyone saying "So I can watch it at my own pace" know you can just wait till the show is over and do it right? Like you can still have your binge session if a show comes out week to week, where as us weekly crew only get one chance and then it's gone forever.

You're likely waiting the same length of time (production length is the same regardless).

all at once, i literally couldn't give a shit less about fandoms or conversations

Click to shrink...

I can at least respect the honesty in this.

 

[Gaf Zombie]

I prefer the weekly drop for those epic shows where there is much to discuss like a Westworld or GoT. More casual programming or anthology shows lend themselves to binge watching imo (e.g. Bojack Horseman, Twilight Zone).

The problem with binge watching the epics is that you don't really have the time to digest them and turn them around a few times in your head before more content is coming right at you.

I'd prefer, for example, HBO release something like Rom 104 all at once and Netflix release Stranger Things weekly.

 

[ryseing]

I enjoy thinking about and digesting the content I consume, so weekly.

 

[The Doomed One]

All at once.
In case there is a show I like that releases on a weekly basis, I wait until the season is over, then watch all episodes in a row.

 

[fade]

I prefer the weekly drop for those epic shows where there is much to discuss like a Westworld or GoT. More casual programming or anthology shows lend themselves to binge watching imo (e.g. Bojack Horseman, Twilight Zone).

The problem with binge watching the epics is that you don't really have the time to digest them and turn them around a few times in your head before more content is coming right at you.

I'd prefer, for example, HBO release something like Rom 104 all at once and Netflix release Stranger Things weekly.

Click to shrink...

This. Depends on the content.

 

[beelulzebub]

Weekly. As has been said, the discussions are lost with binging and frankly it makes remembering a season of television much easier to remember when it's weekly. An episode a week just gives me better mental reinforcement; I'm much more likely to remember character names and what happened in a season if I dive in multiple times over a couple months rather than multiple days in a week.