Between thrilling car chases, tragic deaths, and dramatic love stories, everyone has that one show that keeps them coming back for more. One may say that it’s worth the wait for a good enough show, but is it really worth waiting two years or more for a new season? While a series requires many long nights and days to produce, some are taking an excessive amount of time to put out a new season for their viewers. So, what is holding entertainment companies back from being as proficient as possible in making their content while risking losing precious viewers due to the extensive wait?

     Stranger Things is a great example of a show that has taken over nine years to finish only four seasons, and with a fifth one still on the way. The show first came out in 2016 and starts when the main characters of the show are around 12 and 13 years old, and with the actors in real life the same age as well. But in the most recent season, the characters are meant to be only a few years older than in season one, which would be around 15. But in real life, due to the long break between seasons, the actors were already in their early twenties. This causes the show to become less realistic because of the huge jump in ages between seasons three and four. But, since Stranger Things is such a huge franchise and has over 1.3 billion hours streamed, it allows them to have some wiggle room. And viewers tend to be more flexible and forgiving of the long wait, because of its popularity, and how good the show is. 

     So why do producers wait so long between seasons if a show is so popular? COVID-19 played a huge role in the Stranger Things delay by halting the show to a complete stop for two years due to safety, health precautions, and restrictions. Actors of a show also typically have many other projects while working on set. This can cause many scheduling conflicts, making episodes and scenes move even more slowly. For example, actress Millie Bobby Brown, who plays the character Eleven in Stranger Things, was seen in many other shows like NCIS, Enola Holmes, the Godzilla franchise, Intruders, and many more, all at the same time as the filming of Stranger Things, according to an article by Spyscape. 

     So, what about shows that aren’t as popular and without millions of people watching? Do they have as much flexibility in allowing the series to run on for so long because of such huge pauses in between seasons? Shows like Black Mirror and BoJack Horseman, with not as huge of a fanbase as Euphoria, Squid Game, Bridgerton, or Wednesday, have all taken a substantial time to wrap up their series. Because of this, these productions have lost many viewers due to an overlong wait that apparently wasn’t worth sticking around for. There are many other contributing factors for a show to be delayed, like post-production delays. Although all the filming for a series may be completed, the editing, on the other hand, drags the whole process out by miles, especially shows with extensive visual effects or complex editing processes like CGI. According to Google, “unlike traditional network television, streaming services may release seasons at different intervals, sometimes releasing an entire season at once or spreading episodes over time.” So the situation can rely heavily on how the streaming service decides to release a show quickly or have the anticipation build more. So, the director and producers aren’t always to blame for how long your favorite series is taking to finish. Another contributing factor that can slow down the season release process is scheduling challenges. As mentioned before, it is very common for actors to be working on many other projects at the same time. This can make filming scenes that would only take a couple of days to complete take extra long due to finding time when all actors can fit it into their busy schedules.

     Personally, I love to watch shows and spend a substantial amount of time viewing them. So I do not mind a long wait because I feel it adds to the anticipation and only makes it more exciting when a new season comes out, especially if a show ends on a cliffhanger. Waiting longer for a new season makes the suspension ten times better. It does reach a certain point where most people, including myself, do not want to wait two years for a max of ten episodes. This is why we shouldn’t indulge ourselves so deeply in something that is only fictional, but instead, focus our attention on the things that matter most in life. Whether that’s family, friends, or a hobby or activity you enjoy, you should make the most of each second. Because the best plot over any movie is the one you’re living. So live it to the fullest.