Before the introduction of streaming services, cable television held audiences on a week-to-week viewing schedule. Audiences tuned in at scheduled hours to watch stories unfold slowly, episode by episode. This changed when Netflix, initially a DVD-by-mail service, launched a small streaming platform with a catalog of about 1,000 movies and TV shows that allowed audiences to consume media on demand. This disrupted traditional episodic viewing habits as binge-watching quickly became the standard model of series consumption, reshaping narrative structures and fostering time-compressed engagement.
This binge model was challenged in 2019 with the reintroduction of the weekly release model. “The Mandalorian”, which was released on an episode-a-week model on Disney+, quickly became a cultural conversation dominating social media from week to week with fan theories, cliffhanger chatter, and love for Baby Yoda. This episodic release not only extended the show’s relevancy but also reintroduced audiences to collective viewing culture.
Recently, streaming services have introduced a new multi-part release model. In 2022, Netflix released “Stranger Things” season 4 in two supersized installments, with Volume One containing seven episodes, followed by Volume Two five weeks later. Season 5 of the show is set to release similarly in three parts—four episodes on Nov. 26, three more on Dec. 25, and the finale on New Year’s Eve. This strategy is partly due to post-production demands, but it also signals a shift in how Netflix approaches audience engagement, aiming to extend cultural relevance and generate anticipation across a longer release window, while also extending platform subscriptions across multiple pay periods.
Netflix has applied the split-season model to several of its flagship series, including “Bridgerton,” which saw its third season split across May and June of 2024. According to Netflix data, Part 1 saw 6.9 million views during the week of June 3, nearly a month after its release. But when Part 2 dropped on June 13, the show surged back to the top of Netflix’s most-watched English TV list with 28 million views during the week of June 10. This jump suggests that the split-season model may have successfully reignited interest and driven rewatching or catch-up viewing before the final episodes. Rather than losing momentum, “Bridgerton” used the break to build anticipation and extend its cultural relevance.
However, “Bridgerton” season 2, which was released all at once in 2022, outperformed season 3 by a wide margin in its initial viewership, underscoring the engagement of the binge-release model. At its release, “Bridgerton” season 2 gained 627 million viewing hours in its first 28 days. Dividing the viewing hours by the average watch time, “Bridgerton” season 2 amassed approximately 82 million first-month views—more than double the combined weekly peaks of season 3’s split rollout. The binge model delivered immediate cultural saturation, with viewers consuming and discussing the season as a whole. While season 3’s staggered release sustained engagement over time, it didn’t replicate the scale or velocity of Season 2’s debut.
Other streaming services have also adopted this model. In the case of “Andor”, Disney+ released its second season in four three-episode parts. Each three-episode chapter is set one year after the previous chapter, leading up to the events of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”. This multi-part release allowed viewers to experience each story arc in a consolidated viewing before moving to the next time jump, immersing viewers in the narrative timing of the show.
With both weekly and multi-part release models, platforms like Disney+ and Netflix can extend a show's relevance across multiple billing cycles. Instead of dropping an entire season at once, where a viewer might binge the series during a free trial or a single paid month and then cancel, the lengthened rollout encourages a longer-term subscription. These models are about retention.
Ultimately, the pacing of a show’s release should be dictated by its narrative structure, not just by engagement analytics or subscription payouts. Whether a series narrative relies on cliffhangers, character development, or thematic layering, its rollout should complement its storytelling rhythm. When platforms prioritize narrative integrity over viewership analytics, they foster deeper audience investment and preserve the piece’s artistic integrity. The most resonant stories aren’t just watched, they’re experienced in time, and that timing should be earned by the plot, not imposed by the platform.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.