The Good Old Debate Of TV Show Breaks

Hey People,

So I was reading about Nathan Fillion signing on for another season of Castle, but my argument still stands as long as Katic holds out. I would watch just to see where they would go with it if she doesn't sign, but just for the record, it may be called Castle, but Castle is nothing without Beckett.

Anywho, I was reading the comment section, like I usually do, when an argument started up, which it usually does. Are random breaks killing Castle? I decided to tackle this debate because it doesn't just apply to Castle, but to all American shows, specifically network television shows. Now, I don't just watch American shows, I do watch Asian and British shows as well and it seems to me to be an American thing.

On one side, network television have more episode orders, usually 22, that they have to fill because they want to reach that golden number of 88 (used to 100), which can be done in 4 seasons so they can sell it for syndication and make money off of it forever. They also have a longer period to showcase said show. From September to May is one full season to them. That's 9 months people. They don't include June-August because that's summer and most people go on vacation during those months so less people watch shows. December and January are tricky because people aren't watching again due to most people traveling for the holidays so that's why most shows on network go on winter break. So basically it's like this September-December and then shows start back up somewhere in January-May. Now only that but they have to deal with the Super Bowl as well as award shows.

Personally, I think breaks don't kill shows. If a show is that good they'll come back for it; however, I don't think breaks help either. I like consistency. I like when a show has a run. Game of Thrones does 10 episodes a season and has a gigantic one year break and yet they posted the highest viewership to date during their season 5 premiere. The Walking Dead has a break and yet they're still the number 1 show on television. They split their season in half, but still do a full run with their halves seasons. I think network television should adopt this method. It worked for How to Get Away with Murder and it worked for Empire so why can't it work for others?

Networks should stop saving their finales for May sweeps. They really should just make it April sweeps. I don't know why they save them for May. I was always busy studying for finals in May and then it was the start of vacation so I really don't get it. Anyway, it's just stupid. I've seen shows go on hiatus just so they can coincide with May sweeps. When a show is ready for a finale just show the finale.

I'm hoping this new age of television can change the format norm. Miniseries have been on the rise and I think it's a great way to test a new show. Secrets And Lies just hit highs last night, which means people are just waiting to hear its renewal. I like miniseries because even if it doesn't get renewed, it still has an ending so people like me, who don't want to watch something because we can already see it's doomed to fail based on ratings, will still give the show a try because it has an ending. Miniseries are a win all around and the best part is networks broadcast the entire season on a run.

Miniseries will save network television and will save all of us from breaks.

Luv ya,
            Diva