Netflix owes Black Mirror season 6 a better release than a binge

On Dec. 4, 2011, millions of viewers watched “The National Anthem,” the debut of Black Mirror And the other in which the Prime Minister is forced to have live television sex. After the episode was over, viewers were required to stay with it. It was a debate about the effectiveness of what they were trying to convey, the value of the story, etc. For the week until “15 Million Merits” aired, people who were originally put off by the debut episode’s plot were given time to move past their initial knee-jerk reactions to think about the story beyond the surface level.

Season six of Black Mirror It was all released at the same time, like it always has since Netflix purchased the series in 2015. When the viewers finish that first episode, all they’ll have to do is wait a few seconds for the next one to autoplay. They can watch the whole season at once if they wish, as many people have done since the show was moved over to Netflix. It’s also a format that’s baked into Netflix’s scripted shows more broadly, to the detriment of building fandom around such shows.

The viewers are free to watch whatever they like. Binge-watching a show that is designed to provoke discussion and where each episode tells a story in itself seems like a bad idea. Black Mirror doesn’t always hit, but it deserves a chance to try, and it doesn’t feel like its newer episodes have been properly given one.

It’s how “Smithereens,” a season 5 story contemplating what counts as a win when you’re fighting against a systemic problem far bigger than yourself, gets repeatedly dismissed as just a “phones bad” episode. It’s how “Rachel, Jack and Ashley Too,” the story that uses its premise to explore the corporate exploitation of artists from three contrasting angles, gets summed up as just another uploaded consciousness narrative. The takeaways of viewers who had the time to discuss individual episodes for a week were nuanced and evolved.

Image: Netflix

Image: Netflix

It’s easy to imagine that, were future episodes given more space, their themes wouldn’t be flattened this severely in fandom discussions — even among the weaker installments. If “The National Anthem” Would the same number of fans support the show if it was aired in the Netflix era? Would it be widely accepted as a shock-value episode?

The constant demand for the next episode makes more sense when you look at a serialized show — but that still doesn’t mean Netflix’s binge model is ideal. The idea that viewers would prefer to have all episodes in their palms is a myth.

Season 2. Euphoria in particular was one of the most tweeted-about TV shows of the decade so far, and it’s impossible to imagine the show accomplishing that feat without the week’s wait between episodes. Euphoria It may not have been the best show, but the discussions among fans were the most fun. Rue’s devastating meltdown halfway through, the speculation around Lexi’s play, the absolute game-changer moment when Rue spilled the beans on Cassie’s affair with Nate — it was a thrilling experience, for reasons that had only half to do with the show itself. It’s Like Succession You can also find out more about House of the DragonThis past year has also seen a rise in the number of people who are able to access this service. Season 2 EuphoriaThe show was more than just an event; the community was vibrant and alive, for a period of two full months, not a few days.

Photo: Eddy Chen/HBO

Image: Netflix

Outside of the stray breakout hit like The Queen’s Gambit You can also find out more about the following: Squid Game, Netflix’s strategy of releasing the full season at once all but ensures the show won’t be a meaningful part of the pop culture conversation for more than a week or two. The most popular Netflix shows all have subreddits with their respective fan communities. However, these are usually only active for a couple of weeks a year. Stranger ThingsNetflix’s season 4 managed to remain relevant longer than any of its previous two seasons. However, this was due only to a two-episode break that came before the finale.

This makes sense. Such shows will have less excitement from fans. When shows release all episodes at once, it’s also extremely hard for fans to talk to each other without worrying about spoilers. For fans to avoid spoilers they must either watch the show as much as possible on release day, or completely avoid using social media. The only way to engage with the fandom for Netflix’s shows is to watch as much of it as possible the day it comes out, or take your time and completely avoid social media. It’s a release format that encourages breathlessness, that pushes viewers to think of their favorite shows as content to be consumed as quickly as possible, not art to be savored and reflected upon.

When there’s time for the whole fan base to react to an episode, to speculate on next week’s episode as a group, then there’s time for them to fully engage with it, to rewatch and rethink first impressions of any given episode. Black Mirror might be the most egregious example, but even non-anthology serialized TV is harmed by Netflix’s approach. Netflix clearly understands the value of non-binge models — it’s already moved toward it with several of its ongoing reality shows to great success (if not for the Netflix servers) — but it’s not letting fans of scripted TV enjoy that same sense of anticipation and spectacle. What was the reason? Love Is Blind’s latest season released in easily manageable weekly batches, while Black Mirror Does the whole season get dropped all at once? Why shouldn’t a scripted show also be given the time for fans to appreciate its episodes on an individual basis? Netflix would be wise to follow suit, as nearly all other major streaming services have embraced a weekly release schedule.