TV show seasons are shorter than they have been in the past - and there's a good reason why. For decades, it was natural for all types of shows, from sitcoms to dramas, to have 20+ episode seasons. However, in recent years, the episode counts for television series have dwindled. For example: back in 1972, the sitcom MASH's first season had 24 episodes; 50 years later, in 2022, comedy-drama The Bear only had 8 episodes in its first season. The television industry has shifted over the years, and this has affected the length of TV seasons, with typical 22-episode seasons becoming rarer these days.
There isn't one clear-cut origin for the origin of 20+ episode seasons, though there is a motivation that helps explain why television seasons used to be longer. A big motivator for longer television seasons was definitely syndication; television series often qualified for syndication after airing 100 episodes, which could be accomplished after four or five seasons. Reruns were a profitable enterprise for television production companies, so it made sense for shows to have longer seasons in order to hit that threshold for syndication. Though the length of TV show seasons has changed for cable and streaming, there are still broadcast network series that adhere to the 22-episode model.
TV Seasons Became Shorter Around The Time Of 2007's Writers' Strike
The 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike led to many shows shortening their seasons. This was done out of necessity; production on shows was interrupted due to the strike, and many shows were unable to complete full season orders. A big example is Lost season 4, which originally planned to air 16 episodes. Eight episodes aired before the 2007 writer's strike, and after the strike, only five more episodes were produced to complete the season. Other shows' seasons affected by the strike included 30 Rock (originally 22 episodes but shortened to 15), Grey's Anatomy (shortened from 23 episodes to 19), and Desperate Housewives (shortened from 23 episodes to 17).
Though the 2007 writer's strike caused shows to have shorter seasons, this didn't come at the sacrifice of quality, at least for some programs. 30 Rock season 2 is still a hilarious season of television despite not having a full television season. The same can be said for The Office season 4, which aired "Dinner Party," one of The Office's best episodes, after the writer's strike ended. Friday Night Lights, which had a shaky second season, was able to retool the show and make it more streamlined during the long gap between the second and third seasons. The writer's strike proved "quality over quantity" regarding television seasons.
The Rise Of Streaming Encouraged Shorter TV Seasons
Due to the rise of streaming platforms such as Netflix, shorter television seasons were encouraged. In 2013, Netflix made its first foray into creating original programming with House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, series whose debut seasons only consisted of 13 episodes each. Since streaming platforms don't have to take breaks during summer and winter like broadcast networks did, they can drop entire seasons of a show at once instead of spreading out a season's episodes over several months. Cable networks like HBO and AMC had already gotten into the habit of producing shorter, 10-13 episode seasons, but streaming services brought this practice into the mainstream.
The quick-moving, binge-watching nature of streaming lends itself better to 10-12 episode seasons rather than 20 episodes or more. While it isn't impossible to binge a 22-episode season, shorter seasons make for a quicker and easier binge. Another benefit to shorter seasons on streaming is the fact that streaming services don't have to worry about qualifying for syndication, so the old 100-episode rule was made irrelevant. This removes a lot of the need for 20+ episode seasons since there's no need for streaming services to lease their shows to other networks so they can air reruns.
Shorter TV Seasons Are Far Less Risky
Shorter TV seasons are less of a risk for networks. Previously, a TV show could flop and have 15 episodes still to run, forcing the network to either cancel it midway and cut losses, or continue flogging it. With shorter seasons, networks can better respond to fan demands. Of course, a shorter TV show could also bomb, but it's less of a loss than a 22-episode show being unsuccessful with audiences. A longer television season flopping is a huge risk for networks because that's more time and money poured into more episodes.
Why Shorter TV Seasons Can Mean Better TV
Shorter TV seasons can often lead to better television. TV shows with 20+ episode seasons often had filler episodes that were irrelevant to the plot. When a show only has 10 episodes to work with, the narrative becomes more streamlined and shows can often tell a better story without needing to add filler. It can be argued that filler episodes are needed to provide character development, and some of them are genuinely great, like the Community season 2 episode "Cooperative Calligraphy" or Jon Hamm's favorite episode of Mad Men, "The Suitcase." However, not all filler episodes are good, and some longer seasons tend to be padded with unnecessary filler.
Take a look at Stranger Things, for example. The Netflix series is able to tell a compelling story in 8 or 9 episodes. If Stranger Things was a 22-episode series, there would certainly be more filler and the plot's pacing would certainly be affected. An eight-episode season doesn't seem like a lot of episodes, but the Stranger Things writers manage to pack in enough plot, action, and character development in a shorter season. Many shorter seasons are able to provide quality content. There are still entertaining programs with 20+ episodes, such as the 22-episode Abbott Elementary season 2, but a lot of the best shows on TV have shorter seasons.
TV Production Values Have Increased (& So Have Budgets)
In recent years, television production values and budgets have increased. Major stars such as Reese Witherspoon are doing TV shows more often compared to the past, and TV production has stepped up, making the difference in production values between movies and TV virtually nonexistent. Budgets have also increased due to needing to pay the salaries of major stars and maintain quality production values with aspects such as special effects and filming locations. With budgets for television shows ballooning, it makes sense that fewer episodes would be produced, as that would mean less money for studios to have to spend on a show.
With certain shows such as The Last of Us, budgets wouldn't be able to sustain such a high-quality product for 22 episodes. The Last of Us manages to tell a great story in only nine episodes, which is better for the show than attempting to extend it and have HBO spend even more money on a show before they were sure it was going to be a hit. Television has changed a lot since the network era of the 1950s-1980s; back then, one season of the influential I Love Lucy ran for 35 episodes. TV show seasons are much shorter now, but they're still capable of delivering entertaining stories.