{"id":532444,"date":"2026-03-19T08:23:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532444\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:23:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T08:23:09","slug":"netflix-split-seasons-have-peaked-long-gaps-between-seasons-have-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/532444\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix Split Seasons Have Peaked; Long Gaps Between Seasons Have Not"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tNetflix<\/a> reinvented TV watching by introducing the binge drop, releasing an entire season of its original series at once as opposed to the steeped-in-tradition weekly cadence. <\/p>\n

\n\tThere were naysayers, arguing that going week to week keeps a show in the cultural conversation longer. But Netflix stuck to its guns \u2014 and its binge model \u2014 until it modified it for Season 4 of Stranger Things, which was released in two batches more than a month apart in 2022.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt ushered in an era of split seasons for some of Netflix\u2019s biggest series. Done in part to get fresh episodes to fans faster after production delays related to the pandemic and the Hollywood strikes, the trend peaked in 2023 and 2024. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2023, new seasons of The Witcher, The Crown and a supesized one of Virgin River were all released in two batches each. The following year, the streamer did the same with Bridgerton<\/a>, Emily In Paris and Outer Banks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tBy 2025, only tentpoles Wednesday and Stranger Things saw their seasons split (in two for Wednesday, in 3 for the final installment of Stranger Things.)<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2026, there is only one planned batch release, Season 4 of Bridgerton, which recently debuted in two parts. Subsequent seasons of The Witcher and Emily In Paris have been binge drops, with the upcoming final season of Outer Banks also expected to go out all at once. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJinny Howe<\/a> at Next On Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNetflix<\/p>\n

\t\tGaps Between Seasons\t<\/p>\n

\n\tTo shorten gaps between seasons, Netflix has stepped up early renewals, keeping drama series like Virgin River and The Night Agent \u2014 as well as virtually all comedies \u2014 on an yearly delivery.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSome audiences really love that yearly cadence and expect it, so we\u2019re really trying to honor that and bet forward on the shows that feel like we\u2019re investing in for many, many seasons; they\u2019re designed that way, Jinny Howe, Head of UCAN (U.S.-Canada) Scripted Series, said at the Next On Netflix presentation on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

\n\tEven with early renewals, some series, like Bridgerton, Wednesday and Ginny & Georgia, have been releasing new seasons every two years (For the recently departed Stranger Things, the gaps between seasons stretched to three years.)<\/p>\n

\n\tThat is not likely to change, and Netflix executives see a silver lining in it.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere is also something in terms of strategically and just intentionally thinking about some people [who] don\u2019t want that [the yearly cadence], like absence makes the heart grow fonder in terms of some of our event series and such, and it has to really spring from that well of vision and creativity from the creator,\u201d Howe said. <\/p>\n

\n\tAdded Netflix\u2019s Chief Creative Officer Bela Bajaria<\/a>, \u201cComing back faster is not really our decision. We would love things to come back faster for the audience, but it also depends on the creator writing and getting it all up and running.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tBela Bajaria at Next On Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNetflix<\/p>\n

\t\tAdopting \u2018The Pitt\u2019 Model\t<\/p>\n

\n\tOne thing that premium cable introduced and streaming further honed is short seasons, with 8 episodes a season now standard for a streaming drama series.<\/p>\n

\n\tHBO Max is starting to change that by introducing shows like The Pitt<\/a>, which produce 15 episodes a season and return every year. Would Netflix be interested in doing longer seasons in that mold? <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe are always open to more episodes, fewer episodes, we really let the creative dictate,\u201d Howe said. \u201cIt is a conversation with the creator, a very intimate one, and it\u2019s driven by their vision and what makes the best sense for the show. We do have shows that are 10 episodes, we have shows that are four. I think if a show presents itself, and it says it needs to be more than that, we\u2019re definitely open.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Netflix reinvented TV watching by introducing the binge drop, releasing an entire season of its original series at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":532445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[30436,65660,88,73231,217,62767,1012,92],"class_list":["post-532444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-bela-bajaria","tag-bridgerton","tag-entertainment","tag-jinny-howe","tag-netflix","tag-outer-banks","tag-the-pitt","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=532444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/532445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=532444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=532444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=532444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}