Why I Prefer TV Series More Than Movies Nowadays

I used to like movies a lot, and still do.

The sweet spot for movies is 1 hour and 40 minutes.

When a movie is hitting 3 hours, that’s too long.

A lot of people liked the Oppenheimer film, but for me, it was too long.

After a while, I was yawning away.

Despite liking movies, I haven’t felt the same about them for the past 2 years.

Before, when someone would suggest watching a movie, I felt excited.

Nowadays, I wonder if I have anything better to do.

Do I really want to commit 2 hours to this?

As of late, TV series have been making a comeback for me.

I’m not in a land of my own.

Plenty of people are opting for TV series rather than movies.

The Evolution of TV series

Before, TV series felt silly and like a time pass.

The clearest example is the laugh track.

A serious movie wouldn’t fathom having a laugh track.

However, sitcoms were using the laugh tracks in each of their segments.

Why?

Because sitcoms were meant to create a lighthearted, informal feeling.

Movies were meant to be taken seriously.

Introduce Netflix.

Introduce House of Cards.

These 2 variables changed up the TV series game.

House of Cards was the show that showed the masses that the TV series medium was not just about laugh tracks and lightheartedness.

Instead, a TV series could be the medium for compelling storytelling, awesome cinematography, and a collection of great talent.

Plummeting Concentration Levels

I watch TV at night.

Throughout the day, I’m busy working.

When I watch something at night, the last thing I want to do is concentrate more.

Sometimes, I’ll force myself and watch a movie anyway.

When I begin the movie, I’m invested.

Somewhere within the 45-minute mark, I get distracted.

If you get distracted in a movie, it’s hard to bounce back.

If you get distracted in a TV show, it’s easier to bounce back.

Because by the 45-minute mark of a TV show, you can just say:

‘I’ll suck it up for 15 more minutes, finish this show, and end it for the night.’

Before, TV series were around the 21-minute mark.

If you add 9 minutes of commercials, then you’d have a 30-minute piece of programming.

Nowadays, a lot of the great shows are 45 minutes.

Add in 15 minutes of commercials, and you have a 1-hour long show.

The hour mark is enough but not too much.

It allows the consumer to remain invested.

Variety

I’ve written a detailed piece on why Hollywood is dying…

To summarize, it’s for the following reasons:

• Prioritizing profits over art.
• Immediately going for global success rather than niche success and then expanding to global success.
• Forcefully adding in woke storylines.
• Not taking risks and creating new series.
• Making too many sequels.
• Outsourcing writers.

A collection of these reasons has made Hollywood a dying entity.

Things come in waves though.

Hopefully, they bounce back.

With TV series, it’s easier to experiment.

Due to it being more budget-friendly, TV series are constantly being chugged out.

Some may say this quantity approach hurts the overall pool of entertainment.

I disagree.

The only way you get greatness is through experimentation.

And the only way you experiment is through quantity.

For every 9 duds, you get 1 Squid Games.

For every 9 duds, you get a Black Mirror.

Art is subjective.

To get the 1 Black Mirror, 9 duds had to be created.

You may consider it a dud, while someone else considers that dud a masterpiece.

The volume approach does wonders for the TV series camp.

Will TV Series Make Movies Irrelevant?

I don’t think movies will ever go away.

Just like plays will never go away.

There are still a lot of people who like to go to a theatre and watch actors and actresses act out a live-style play.

However, plays have taken a hit since the introduction of movies.

• Plays don’t have a rewind button, movies do.

I think the recent popularity of TV series will impact the popularity of movies.

Fewer people will go to the theaters and fewer people will be inclined to watch movies in the first place.

They’ll think:

‘Why invest in one 2-hour piece of content when I can invest in a bunch of 20-minute shows of a series?’

Also, I think our perceptions of celebrities are going to switch up.

Before, movie stars were the king of celebrities.

They were on the BIG screen for a reason.

They were visually on the biggest medium.

Nowadays, being a movie star doesn’t pack the same punch.

Unless you are an A-list celebrity who is a bonafide star because you have been given a franchise, then the public doesn’t care about movie stars as much.

I’d feel way more excited meeting the cast of Breaking Bad vs the cast of Dune.

This is my opinion, of course.

It feels like I know the TV series characters way longer than the movie characters, which brings me to my last point.

The Votes Add Up

Movies are something we watch and that’s it.

With TV series, it feels like we are investing in them.

There is this show on Netflix called Broad Church.

The premise of the show was about finding a killer who lives in a small village.

This show was riveting because we didn’t know who the killer was until the end.

Each time I clicked “watch next episode”, each time I voted on the series.

I only do 1 vote when I decide to watch a movie.

I do a series of votes when I complete a TV series.

These votes add up.

Over time, they build an intimate feeling into the series, characters, and plot.

We are sad when the TV series is complete and we can’t wait for the next season.

I still love movies, won’t deny that.

But I’m currently in my TV series era.

For more insights into storytelling & media, check out the Art & Science of Storytelling Book

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– ArmaniTalks