Hulu announces they won’t allow binge-watching of their new slate of shows
Hulu ain’t down with binge-watching. The company has announced that you won’t be able to plow through their upcoming slate of offerings in one sitting, instead reverting back to that dusty, moth-covered TV model you all hate. My knee-jerk reaction is to say this is “fucking stupid” and “retrograde.” But you know what? I’ve really enjoyed the hype and conversation that comes with having to wait every week for a new episode of certain shows. Namely, last year’s True Detective. And Mr. Robot this year. There are certainly pros and cons to both models, and while I think they’re going to face a large backlash for this, I’m not holding one of the pitchforks.
The backlash against binge-watching has officially begun, or at least that’s what Hulu is hoping. In order to compete with Netflix and Amazon, the television streaming service is only going to release its original series on a weekly basis.
Yes, this includes The Mindy Project, according to AdWeek. The reasoning behind this model is to help build an audience for Hulu’s original offerings. “We value the shared experience and the joy of the watercooler that is television. This will also allow us to get the shows out to our audiences faster, without waiting until full series completion,” says Craig Erwich, Hulu’s svp and head of content, at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour.
Hulu is doing this just as Amazon announced that is switching permanently to the binge-watching model, but after one of Amazon Studios’ directors lamented that weekly viewing “provides a certain pleasurable anticipation” that’s lost with binge-watching.
Pleasure anticipation to TV producers, or torture to the rest of us, which is how I felt during season 2 of The Mindy Project, where they dragged out Mindy and Danny finally getting together to good week after week.