When Bear first premiered all in one go, a feverish eight episodes hitting Hulu in June 2022. While the show was beloved by critics, it took a while, relatively speaking, to catch on, appearing as the second most-watched show across all platforms three weeks later and the most watched program next week. The second season, released in the same heist-like fashion around the same time a year later, came out hot, rapidly becoming the most watched television series in the United States.
During both seasons, BearThe audience sold out pretty quickly, making her the equivalent of a dark comedy breakout star. This is typical of binge-watching shows, which industry watchdogs like Parrot Analytics say typically have a “decay rate” of approximately eight weeks from its initial release. The programs were released weekly, as The Acolyte or Severance, They tend to stay in the audience’s mind for much longer, from the initial release to about nine weeks after the finale. Seventy-five percent of the most popular shows in the US in 2023 were released weeklyand programs that come out in installments usually draws more viewers in the break between seasons, creating fewer peaks and valleys in their long-term viewing figures.
Weekly releases also help keep shows in the cultural conversation for longer. Just watch Fall. Amazon Prime Video released all eight episodes of that video game adaptation at once and people really got it. so angry About The loudest conversation about Fall In the end, what really mattered was the launch and not the program itself.
All of which is to say: Why the hell BearCan the entire third season be scrapped at once? While the show’s cast says the marathon model is, as Matty Matheson, who plays Neil Fak, recently said at a press conference, “strict,” the way a series is created artistically seems to have less and less to do with the way it reaches audiences. (For example, Bridgerton Showrunner Jess Brownell recently told the Los Angeles Times She had no idea Netflix was considering splitting the show’s final season into two parts until after filming it, which created an interesting episodic flow.)
“You produce a program from a content point of view,” he says. Evan Shapiroa TV producer turned professor and Substack expert. “Programming is much more about marketing to new subscribers or retaining existing subscribers.” In other words, just because something like Bear It’s excellent television that’s best watched as an artistic whole, but the Hulu team still seems to treat it like a subscription driver that drives clicks. Showrunners create in the hopes that you’ll finish their shows; streaming services often only care about whether or not you start them.
While FX and Hulu is certainly following the precedent set by the last two seasons, there is a sense that the release plan for the current season possibly BearThe most anticipated show to date is an exercise in target practice. By unfolding it this way, the show comes on strong and fast, controlling the cultural conversation around it. Emmy nominations votingand then fails immediately after. Bear We only just started filming the current season in February, which makes the date change for this 10-episode release seem downright cruel to all the editors, publicists and marketing professionals working behind the scenes.