Future AMC/OLTL eps released all at once as a 20 ep season?

[EricMontreal22]

Ha I actually thought of you when I wrote that because I remember you saying something about binge watching (Hemlock specifically I think.)

I admit, the most I can "marathon" an hour show--unless I'm stuck sick in bed or something--is about three episodes at most. It just isn't ideal for me really (though I have gone on some binges--but with current shows I keep up with, etc, it's easy to stay caught up with those and let the ones I have 6+ episodes just sit there as I can always watch them.)

So I get that other people prefer binge watching. Still, if PP honestly claims that people were falling behind with all the episodes--this certainly won't help.

[JackPeyton]

with both HG and OiTNB i happened to be medicated/in bed so it worked perfectly. I watched both all the way through in 13 straight episodes overnight lol.

same with the west wing. i was in the hospital for 10 days then taken off work for 20 days so i watched all the episodes every waking moment.

but lost.. lost i just skipped school, called out of work and obsessed over for a week. i call it my lost coma.

but even with shows like days, revenge, under the dome, dexter, true blood, etc ill let 3-10 episodes build up and watch them. i really only watch like pll and scandal every week as it airs and thats really only out of spoilers on twitter.

with HG and OiTNB on netflix i was woriied about not discussing them because thats become a huge part of watching for me but i discussed them a lot as watching them and after and people tend to be really good about not spoiling stuff.

[Cheap21]

PP need to make up their damn minds already. This nonsense is ridiculous as hell

[marceline]

Add me to the "just pick something and stick with it" list.

Neither of this options really do much for me. When I binge watch something, I want it to be a full season that gives me some resolution at the end even if there's a cliffhanger. That's why the Netflix shows work for me. I went through OITNB and House of Cards each in a weekend. Each of those shows have full story arcs that play out during the "season" with a tease at the end that sets up the next season. That's not what soaps are supposed to be.

If PP wants to change their model I would prefer they go with straight telenovela model and release 20 (just 20?) episodes daily then let me know when the next month is up. Also, really just ditch the MORE. It's just a waste of money. I go straight for the previews. Most of MORE would be better suited to the occasional web exclusive instead of a regular feature.

I give them credit, however, for doing the survey and asking what people want instead of just assuming. I wish they'd done that with the profanity.

[acbuddy3]

I agree with the "pick something and stay with it" crowd. I know PP had their issues with the production and couldn't stay on a 4-5 day a week schedule but at this point, they need to pick something and stick with it before people get too confused and stop watching totally. Even though, I thought the plan was to return to a 4-5 day a week schedule at some point.

Like others have said, whether PP wants to admit it or not, these are daytime style serials. The storylines and the casts are designed under the fact that the shows are going to have a lot of episodes. The fact that episodes come out daily is a big draw for many people and I also think that the current weekly releases and the low number of episodes released each week has killed momentmum. You can see it on the boards (not just this one, but others). PP needs to realize that these are not primetime style serials a la Scandal, and never will be unless you drop half the cast and change the way stories are told.

Plus, isn't PP trying to get a TV syndication deal. I don't know how this is appealing to TV networks.

How I watch now is I alternate AMC/OLTL each day, and then skip a day (I do not watch the More show -- what a waste of time!). If they were to go 20 episode seasons, this would not change for me. I do it this way so at least I have something to watch each day.

But, I would rather AMC/OLTL to return to the traditional soap schedule --- new episodes 5 days a week (or at least 3-4). Get rid of the More show as an episode, it can be a bonus show, but it is too much of a timewaster to be considered an "episode". Start a huge advertising campaign to rebuild momentmum. Keep advertising the shows letting people know they exist. Hopefully, this will rebuild the momentmum that was lost in the first few weeks.

Also, the binge viewing will always be there. That comes with the territory of your show being made available to watch online anytime.

[Chris B]

I actually find myself watching MORE now that the shows aren't in production. The past few weeks have been pretty good. I'm enjoying the interviews which mostly seem to be done at home and there is less Leslie Miller since they aren't at the studio. The show SUCKED being filmed at the studio.

[greens_dupres]

See this time I actually don't think they're being reactionary. I think they're genuinely now trying to figure out to do a season 2 in a way that doesn't cause them to bleed money, considering options and even surveying fans. I think the problem is that they've already been overly reactionary- the 4 to 2, the Monday switch, the cursing- all seemed like hastily made decisions and now another change will be lumped in with those even if its a more carefully considered one. And people are already tired of trying to readjust their expectations.

I don't love this idea but I'm wondering if its perhaps more Hulu based than PP- the survey is coming from Hulu, lots of deals might be getting looked at in light of the buyer deal being taken off the table, they've openly said they're aiming to compete with Netflix in original programming and this potential model looks like that- it just seems to fail to take into account that they're dealing with shows that have been daily serials for decades.

I agree that MORE is less cloying than it was in the first month or two. I loved the Erika Slezak/Robin Strasser interview at her home & Leslie is a lot more background. I wouldn't miss it if it went away but I do usually put it on as background when I'm getting ready to go out or just need something to fill a few minutes.

[marceline]

I think the survey is PP based but I'm guessing they went with a Hulu survey for two reasons: 1.) the data is more valid and reliable because it can't be robovoted and 2.) this filters out the "What's a Hula?" and "Put it back on TV!!!" crowd. They're sampling real current and potential customers.

[rhinohide]

I agree. At least they are getting some feedback before just announcing a change. I think I would like this, but if they'd just suddenly said they were changing something again, I probably would have an emotional knee jerk reaction.

And to be fair, I think a lot of the changes they've made where on Friday we learn that the schedule will be changed next week make it seem like they don't know what they're doing. Just fumbling around and trying new things to see what works. That's fine to an extent, but you can expect to lose people every time you do something like that. Hopefully you gain more, but it's a risk. Every decision they've made thus far was not really a positive for most of the traditional soap viewers. Shorter episodes (which was the case from the beginning) isn't what we were used to and was a difficult adjustment to make. Then four days a week was cut to two. That was another adjustment. Now this?

I keep hearing that we just have to go along with it because that's what has to be done. But the truth is, not everyone feels like they're responsible for keeping the shows on the air. They're watching because they want to and they're entertained. If that changes, they will stop.

[LindaTNo1]

Fans would have a "binge" watch weekend fest to dump the entire season on viewers. Similar to the weekly dumping we get on Mondays. Going from 4 day 4 episodes down to 2 episodes per week tells me that PP needs to make a plan and stick by it. Stop messing with the fans.

[LindaTNo1]

It does ruin the point of soaps. The networks have 5 day a week shows. If this actually happens will the shows no longer be eligible for Daytime Emmy and be required to move to Primetime Emmys?

[greens_dupres]

Yes, the networks do have 5 day shows but they dumped these particular shows as 5 day shows. PP is not a major television network- they're a start-up trying to find a model that allows them to revive these shows and characters in some fashion. I haven't loved every choice they've made and I probably won't love this one but I don't think they need to adhere to the network soap model. They point of soaps to me isn't 5 days, its ongoing multigenerational storytelling- if they can find a way to make that work in any model, I'll watch.

I don't know about the Emmys but I'm sure the actors are more excited about having a job/paycheck then sitting through the bargain basement Daytime Emmys on some CNN stepchild network.

[ellabelle]

So the initial "excuse" behind the drop from 4 to 2 episodes a week is that people are binge watching and that's somehow bad... but then they dropped 2 episodes + the more show on Mondays, and now they're talking about dropping 20 episodes at once?

I guess it's a good sign that PP is looking for the best possible model, but please just pick something and stick with it.

[Vee]

I think the good news is they're genuinely sticking with this thing and trying to find a model that is viable for their costs. If they could do things the same old way as network, four or five days a week perpetually I'm sure they would, and I'd prefer that myself, but they don't have that kind of money and infrastructure, at least not yet. They seem quite committed.

Assuming there are multiple seasons per year, my best scenario in this kind of setup would be 30-40 episodes per "season", and AMC and OLTL alternating seasons. We're at something like 31 on Hulu right now sans all the More episodes, recaps, etc. (And "More" has improved a lot since they left the studio, etc. - it's reasonably interesting and watchable now, and I often do when I'm done with the week's episodes.)

Really, though, what I'd prefer is 3-4 episodes a week, staggered. I don't mind binge viewing myself, for all the reasons Jack mentioned, but I also see what the binge setup has done to viewing habits around here - it's also reinforced an attitude among some idiots online that these soaps aren't 'for real' because they're not coming on at an enforced timeslot per day. There needs to be a setup that sticks and it preferably needs to be one that staggers viewing per week.

The idea of "seasons", while not optimal, doesn't bother me - it's a classic telenovela setup, and PC did well with it back in the day before everything became vampires.

[greens_dupres]

I don't know what to make of this- maybe I'm just naive because I'll watch them in any capacity but it seems like some "fans" are already outraged (again not here where everyone is mostly refreshingly sane even if they would prefer something else) or claim they stopped watching over the current schedule. I do worry about serious backlash to another possibly more dramatic shift but at the same time, I feel like people who take the time to post on soap forums and tweet to the show accounts are probably going to watch even if they complain.