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We’re barely four months into 2025, and it’s already proven to be among the strongest years for television in a long time. With TV shows like Severance and The White Lotus cementing themselves as critical darlings that generated plenty of online discussion, TV is hitting a new peak that very few people could have anticipated. There have also been plenty of other great shows that have seemingly come from nowhere, with shows like Adolescence and The Pitt announcing highly anticipated second seasons. It may have been a slow year for movies, but television is the complete opposite.
Interestingly, many of these acclaimed TV shows have something else in common: they steer clear of the binge-watching release format that’s become so popular over the past few years. The trend, which encourages audiences to consume an entire season in one sitting by releasing every episode at once, has gained popularity thanks to streaming services like Netflix. This format has been continued by shows like Zero Day and You, but several projects are going back to a more traditional format.
2025’s TV Show Releases Have Proven Why Weekly Releases Are Better Than Full Season Drops
There’s So Much More To Enjoy With Weekly Releases
In the first half of 2025 alone, the weekly release structure has run circles around the binge-watch structure. Some of the best streaming shows of 2025 have adopted this strategy, testing the audience’s patience and making them come back every week to find out what happens to their favorite characters. Shows like Severance, The White Lotus, and The Last of Us strongly benefit from this approach because of how plot-heavy they are. Releasing one episode per week gives audiences enough time to digest what happened in the previous episode and theorize what’s going to happen in the next.
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Conversely, shows like The Pitt and Yellowjackets had brilliant storylines, but it was the intricate character work and methodical pacing that made the weekly release structure so effective. Audiences could gradually get to know these characters week-by-week, instead of being overwhelmed with new characters over a single weekend. The Pitt is a perfect example of this; the show’s familiar structure could become repetitive if watched all at once, but the way the characters slowly evolve and forge interesting dynamics each week is what kept audiences coming back for more.
How Binge-Watching Became So Popular On Streaming
House Of Cards Kicked Off This Irreversible Trend
Binge-watching is still a fairly new phenomenon in the history of television, and it’s a direct consequence of Netflix’s unique streaming model. The practice first became popular when Netflix trialed it with House of Cards, releasing all thirteen episodes of the first season at once. This political drama is a very plot-heavy show that benefits from audiences soaking up the entire story in one viewing, and the structure was quickly adopted by some of Netflix’s other popular shows – Stranger Things, The Crown, Money Heist, etc.
Previously, TV shows had been relegated to a few specific hours at the end of the day when people most needed to wind down – now, these shows are available in huge quantities at whatever time best suits the viewer.
Over the pandemic, the idea of binge-watching an entire season gained even more notoriety as people had much more free time on their hands to watch television. Previously, TV shows had been relegated to a few specific hours at the end of the day when people most needed to wind down – now, these shows are available in huge quantities at whatever time best suits the viewer.
Since this trend became more popular, streaming services have profited from some great “bingeworthy” shows that allow audiences to lose themselves in a long, complex story over an entire weekend. Additionally, the fact that streaming services like Netflix have such an enormous back catalog of shows makes it even more normal – viewers have gotten used to having the entirety of Breaking Bad or The Wire on demand, so it makes sense they’d want the same from new releases.
Weekly Releases On Streaming Have More Benefits
Audiences Can’t Just Consume Everything At Once
Although binge-watching has seemingly become the most popular way of consuming television, the weekly release structure remains the most beneficial and exciting way to watch a new show. It cultivates engagement in a way that binge-watching simply can’t; it encourages audiences to come back week after week, allowing them to form a connection with the show and get excited about the new episodes. This isn’t possible when the entire season is available at the click of a button.
Although binge-watching makes sense for shows that are going to leave Netflix soon, it’s not the way forward for new properties. The weekly release schedule allows shows to develop a fandom that can discuss the most recent episode together over an entire week, sparking discussions and giving the show a much longer shelf life. Shows stay popular for much longer when they’re released this way, as they can be released over two or three months. It also helps prevent spoilers, as audiences don’t have to worry about getting through the entire season as quickly as possible before going on social media.
Will Netflix Ever Lean Into The Weekly Release Model?
The Service Is Already Beginning To Trial Something New
Although many streaming services have left the binge-watching format in the past, Netflix still hangs on to this way of releasing new shows. Netflix was the service that first made it popular, and it’s also the one that’s stuck with it for the longest. There’s clearly a commercial benefit to releasing shows this way – possibly because Netflix has so many releases that they don’t have to worry about longevity. Whenever audiences finish talking about the latest release, there’s another just around the corner. This makes it difficult to justify spending three months gradually releasing the same show.
However, Netflix has since begun to release shows in “parts”. Stranger Things was the project that pioneered this method, but many Netflix TV shows are following suit. Instead of releasing the entire season at once, Netflix splits the seasons into two or three parts, and allows audiences to binge a handful of episodes before waiting for the next set. This is a fitting compromise between the two release formats, but it also proves that Netflix is unwilling to fully commit to weekly releases.
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