Summary

• Suits success on Netflix proves audience crave for long-running TV shows, defying the trend of short, limited series.
• Streaming impact of Suits highlights audience appeal for traditional TV formats with extended multi-season arcs and character development.
• Cancelation of Netflix original shows like 1899 shows contrast with Suits' prolonged success, suggesting greater value in long-running series.

The resurgence of USA Network's Suits since its arrival on Netflix is an exciting development for the series' producers and fans, yet the show's popularity also proves a bigger problem with TV in the streaming era. A modest critical and commercial hit during its original nine-season run, Suits built a dedicated following without ever earning the high-profile acclaim of some of its network peers. As a result, the show's huge appeal on Netflix has come as something of a surprise, leading many observers to wonder what exactly it is about Suits that has helped it appeal to a whole new audience.

Irrespective of the show's middling performance on network television, Suits has remained incredibly popular on both Netflix and Peacock, frequently appearing on the most-watched lists for both services. Such figures speak to the enduring appeal of the drama. However, they also demonstrate that, for all their success with old series like Suits, streaming services also face a wider problem.

Suits’ Netflix Success Proves Audiences Are Craving Long-Running TV Shows

Irrespective of the content of the story, Suits' belated popularity on streaming highlights an appetite among audiences for more traditional TV shows. In stark contrast to many streaming platforms' original series, Suits ran for 134 episodes, providing plenty of content for audiences to enjoy. While the perceived wisdom has recently been that viewers are unwilling to commit to an extended TV series and would instead prefer to watch something closer in length to a traditional miniseries, Suits proves that this is actually far from the case.

It's not just Suits' success on Netflix that demonstrates this point – although it is certainly a prominent example. The most popular TV shows on rival streaming service Disney+, for instance, are frequently long-running TV series that have a history of prior success on traditional networks, such as The Simpsons and Doctor Who. Hit shows like Grey's Anatomy have also been rejuvenated by their availability on streaming, demonstrating that the appeal of long-running TV shows goes beyond Suits' specific story. As a result, the trend is less about the content of a TV show, but its format.

Suits’ 9-Season Run Is A Reminder Of How Short TV Shows Have Become

Suits' position at the top of Netflix's popularity charts is in stark contrast to many of the streaming service's (and its rivals') approach to original programming. Of the top 10 TV shows on Netflix ranked by popularity in the US at the time of writing, five (Baby Reindeer, Bodkin, A Man In Full, El Rey del Cachopo: César Román, and Blood of Zeus) are series that contain eight episodes or fewer per season. This perfectly demonstrates how original shows are focusing on an increasingly oversaturated "" market – with an emphasis on high production quality and a movie-like narrative.

By contrast (with the exception of the first and final seasons), each of Suits' seasons was 16 episodes in length – more than double what most streaming shows typically contain. Part of this is a consequence of the particular demands of television, where networks are keen to fill a particular slot on a regular basis. However, the fact that this format continues to attract a significant audience, even when it's removed from its traditional home, proves that elongated stories, with more time dedicated to building characters and relationships, is a winning formula – irrespective of its context.

Netflix’s Cancelation Problem Makes Suits’ Success Even More Meaningful

The fact that audiences have been willing to invest in a nine-season show from the beginning and watch it all the way through flies in the face of assumptions about viewer engagement and patience. However, it also highlights an irony around the streaming giant's ruthlessness when it comes to its own original projects. In recent years, there have been many examples of original Netflix series that have been unexpectedly canceled after just one or two seasons – often to the outrage of fans. Shows like 1899, Lockwood & Co., and The Brothers Sun were all canceled without a definitive conclusion.

By contrast, Suits and other network shows that have found a new home on streaming platforms are notable for their extended, multi-season arcs. The fact that Suits itself ran for nine seasons and is finding belated popularity demonstrates how canceling a show before it can find its feet could mean missing out on a slow-burn hit. While Netflix's emphasis on limited series makes failure more costly, it also limits the opportunity for creating extended, comparatively cost-effective, popular TV shows. Although canceling series' with limited audience appeal is understandable, the streamer's continued abortive decision-making sits in stark contrast to Suits' prolonged success.

Will Suits’ Record-Breaking Success On Netflix Change The Streaming Game?

There are undoubtedly specific pressures and demands that have contributed to the different ways in which TV networks and streaming services like Netflix traditionally structure their original content. On a streaming platform, there is no pressure from advertising requirements, and big-budget projects do not carry the same level of jeopardy. Likewise, streaming Networks do not necessarily have to worry about specific series' performance in relation to their rivals, since subscriber models are arguably much more forgiving. Nevertheless, there are still lessons to be learned from Suits' historic performance on Netflix.

The fact that Suits continues to prove so popular demonstrates that more typical TV formats can find success away from network television. This fact could encourage streaming services to commission more shows that, despite lacking the edge of their usual output, boast a greater number of episodes per season and encourage writers to take a more deliberately paced approach to character development and story. In turn, this could see streaming service output become more traditional – potentially making it even more of a threat to more conventional entertainment providers.

...the episodic, week-by-week schedules adopted by most networks are far removed from streamers' typical same-day release plans.

There are obstacles to streaming services commissioning the same type of content as their network rivals. For starters, the episodic, week-by-week schedules adopted by most networks are far removed from streamers' typical same-day release plans. Limiting the number of episodes available also makes it easier to track a show's success with viewers, making decisions over whether to commit to a long-term plan for the series more straightforward. However, despite these differences, the continued success of shows like Suits highlights that there are lessons streaming services can learn from more orthodox producers.

Source: BBC