One of the most critically acclaimed comedies of recent times, Reservation Dogs is lauded for its depiction of life in rural Oklahoma and for using a crew largely comprised of Indigenous people. Critics agree that the show only got better as it went along, and its third and final season is currently airing on Hulu. Fans of the show are disappointed to see it go, but we actually see an early exit as a good thing.
The state of television right now, to be quite frank, is an absolute mess. With both the writers and actors on strike (for good reason), we’re not sure what is to become of the television industry moving forward. What we do know is that streaming services have changed the industry – for better or for worse (hence the strike) – and everybody involved needs to adapt. One such adaptation should be ending more shows after just a few seasons.
A Historic Aspect of TV has Altered
Shows ending after just a few seasons isn’t anything new. The television industry has always been difficult to dive into and even harder to swim in. But while a show ending after just a few seasons used to be a clear signal that it wasn’t landing with viewers or wasn’t performing well in the ratings (and to a certain extent, it still is a signal of that), that’s not always the case in modern television. Now, if a show ends after three or four seasons, it begs the question of whether that was the creator’s intention.
For several years, we were in peak TV. And if we weren’t already out of it, the writers’ and actors’ strikes have confirmed it: peak TV is over. But that’s okay, because peak television didn’t mean that it was the highest quality television ever (although we did get some of the best titles of all time over the past seven years). It just meant that we had so many options. Once the creatives come to an agreement with the studios, we’ll likely see fewer new titles.
But peak television didn’t just bring us a deluge of series. It also reformed the art. Television became one of the most legitimate ways for storytellers to tell those stories. And whether by choice or necessity, writers became adept at telling a story in just a few seasons, leading to shows ending of their own volition rather than waiting for a crowd kill. Television creators often know their characters’ arcs before the show is in production, and if the most masterful storytellers in the entertainment industry say that it’ll take three seasons to tell their story, we should let them end after three seasons.
Let Network Television Air Old Favorites Forever
This isn’t an exact science, of course. Sitcoms like Abbott Elementary and Ghosts could (and perhaps should) continue in perpetuity because of their format. But more nuanced comedies like Ted Lasso and Reservation Dogs rightfully ended after three seasons. Those stories are more insular, and the creators were able to send their intended messages in a limited number of seasons.
Jason Sudeikis of ‘Ted Lasso’
Of course, comedies like Ghosts and Abbott Elementary air on network television (as do shows that have now existed through two writers’ strikes, like Grey’s Anatomy), and that’s where they should stay. But shows that air on streaming services don’t need 10+ seasons. Not only do they risk giving us a bad season (which many could argue happened with Ted Lasso), they also risk losing their impact. While we would love to see another season of Ted Lasso, it ended at the right time. It made sense for that character. The same thing is happening with Reservation Dogs.
Having fewer seasons will also allow viewers to consume more content. If you were to start streaming Grey’s Anatomy from the beginning, you’d be locked in for months, and that’s if you had no other obligations while bingeing it. Network shows also follow a more rigid schedule. We already have nearly as many episodes of Ghosts as we do Stranger Things, and the latter aired over five years before the former.
We’re fortunate to have so much television to watch. Truly, it’s a blessing. And most of it is, at the very least, watchable. (A lot of it’s good. Some of it’s excellent.) But if we want to watch as many different series as we can, we need stories that button up quickly. We’re not advocating for storytellers to rush – take the time you need to tell the story. But focus on stories that don’t require 11 seasons.
Reservation Dogs is streaming now on Hulu.