This summer, CBS unveiled Stephen King’s Under the Dome – a 13-episode summer drama. And thus far, it’s been a solid hit.
According to the network, the program was created as a “limited event series” for the summer months – not a failed venture like Zero Hour that was dumped from the regular season and burned off this summer while no one was looking. And at the end, all questions will be answered. No one will be left hanging.
That’s not to say that it couldn’t return. Based on a fictional town, there are a couple thousand other characters with stories waiting to be told. But I like this idea of a beginning, a middle, and an end to this particular story.
I’m an avid reader. I’m particularly fond of the Harry Bosch series from author, Michael Connelly, that have spanned decades. But each one has a satisfying ending. So should there never be another, nobody falls into the abyss.
Viewers are constantly frustrated trying to follow their shows through the dizzying maze of network schedule changes over the months and years – not to mention putting in the effort with new shows, only to have them abruptly cancelled.
And some series, like Lost, just exhaust us. Having invested dozens of TV hours and months of online theories, we couldn’t let it go even when it started to disappoint. We had to stay to the bitter end because we earned that resolution.
So why not make every serialized or storyline series a one season “event,” whether it be 10, 13, or 24 episodes? No more half-baked season-ending cliffhangers.
After all, they’ll never top “Who shot J.R.?”
And no more disappointing sophomore seasons. Viewers loved ABC’s Revenge with its Count of Monte Cristo-esque style, tuning in to see Emily Thorne’s “Target of the Week.” But Season Two failed to impress, bringing in Red Herring characters and dropping the original formula that was so satisfying.
There’s also a fiscal logic to the single season serial. It would open up acting jobs for new talent because the stars wouldn’t spend years playing the same roles. In fact, there would be fewer big stars and more actors.
Paycheques also wouldn’t grow so exponentially, keeping compensation more equitable amongst talented actors and saving the networks money for other new productions.
And knowing it to be a short-lived relationship from the beginning, viewers wouldn’t become so attached to the characters. After all, years of bringing them into our homes each week tends to establish an overly intimate connection to our favourite shows. We’re inspired by them. We dress like them. We duplicate their speech. We love them.
But they’re really just adult versions of our childhood imaginary friends. And after a point, that wasn’t so healthy either.
I’m not alone in this idea. Fox intends to bring back 24 with a limited series event next summer and recently, Netflix did it with Arrested Development.
It’s a solid plan with a lot of benefits.
The End.
