Beyond the Binge

Bingeing on TV is not new, but in years gone by it involved broadcast marathons and tended to be limited to long holiday weekends for series like The Twilight Zone or The Simpsons.

Today, audiences can feast on their faves all the time. Even creators indulge: "It can provide a richer experience for certain shows," says Peter Jankowski, president of Wolf Entertainment, home to the binge-worthy Law & Order and Chicago franchises. "Game of Thrones is one big 10-hour movie, and it's exciting to watch a show like that."

But bingeing isn't just about viewers. Savvy showrunners now create their shows with the knowledge that they may be consumed in a concentrated serving or two, rather than weekly portions. For some, the change is disconcerting — for others, it's a welcome shift.

"I was aware that some people were going to watch Fargo live, and some would save it up to watch all at once," says creator, executive producer and showrunner Noah Hawley, who opened each episode in the series' first season in a new location, to create a sense of "disorientation" that would snap a bingeing viewer back to attention.

"We had to make a show that's not only a satisfying live experience, but also addresses that about half your audience is going to watch it without commercials, so you can't think about act breaks," he adds.

Netflix, where shows are routinely released a full season at a time, allows its producers to craft episodes that may not have uniform lengths. That's another way to upend expectations for viewers — and writers. "The story tells you how long it will be," explains Marta Kauffman, an executive producer of Grace and Frankie, "and that's liberating as a writer."

Having access to a full season at once means audiences can pick and choose their viewing order, which gave Master of None executive producers Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari a different kind of freedom.

"The fact that all the episodes were available at once meant we were able to make a second episode that had no one in it from the first episode except Aziz," Yang says. "On a week-to-week model, you're concerned with reminding people about the setup of the world and the relationships of the characters."

The Walking Dead executive producer Scott Gimple doesn't mind how people want to watch his series, but he does lament the loss of the traditional weeklong pause.

"The richest experience I had was with Lost," he recalls, "watching it week to week and going through the emotions — spending time in your car or shower or before you fell asleep thinking about what was going to happen next. The TV that got me here helped frame the rhythm of my life."

But Hawley remains on both sides of the fence, sculpting his episodes artistically while hoping they'll be appreciated again, after the rush of the whodunit fades.

"I would hope the first time is not the only time they watch the show," he says. "The first experience of watching is the full immersion — you're left with ideas and feelings. Then you find you want to go back and think about it more fully the next time around. It shouldn't be just like regular television."