Less isn’t always more, especially in this day and age, when we have oversaturation of series but not nearly enough that stick around, resonate, and keep people tuned in regularly.
There’s a reason why younger viewers, you know, the ones that networks are often chasing after, have gravitated to mostly older shows of yesteryear. Strong casts, writing, and roughly 20 episodes a season make it worthwhile to settle in.
Which is why CBS’s decision to cut some of its series down to bulk up its slate is bittersweet and frustrating.
People are generally tired of network television falling victim to the same streaming patterns that are irksome.
No one wants to wait nearly a year for their favorite series to return, only for eight or ten episodes, and then they’re left hanging yet again.
Viewers across the board have desired more episodes, not less. And the broadcast adaptation of the streaming model, in which they start treating comfort procedurals as limited series, has stripped network television of its own identity and reliability.
On paper, it looks like we’re getting more for less.
CBS is one of the few networks that still takes big enough swings and pumps out a wide array of scripted content, while others have sadly been overcome by reality, game, and competition shows.
More scripted content on its surface is a wonderful thing. Of course, that’s until it comes at the expense of the scripted content that we already have. And that’s where it becomes a double-edged sword.
The move feels like a grand stand, as linear television has started collapsing in on itself because of costs and other factors.
But it also highlights exactly that point: that having more variety in series means slashing away at what we have until there’s nothing left.
It also poses some frustrations regarding how the season will play out.
Fewer episodes mean longer hiatuses and extended breaks, and we know the longer there is time between new episodes and content, the easier it is to fall off, and ratings go down. It feels like the move is ripe for backfiring.
But who am I kidding? My frustration also lies in seeing the wonky distribution regarding which shows require severe cuts and which do not.
When it comes down to sensible shortened seasons, Fire Country and Matlock are reasonable. Their next seasons will be 13 episodes long, which works for both shows.
Apparently, Matlock actually requested a shortened season, which is a vote of confidence in “the powers that be” learning what works best for the show.
It’s essentially undergoing a much-deserved and overdue reset after freeing itself from the Wellbrexa plot that dragged on longer than it needed to.
As a legal drama, with the type of work that Matlock does, 13 episodes is a nice sweet spot that allows the show to produce tighter, engaging storytelling.
Fire Country will also get a 13-episode order, and given the various issues that have cropped up during Season 4, that’s ideal for the show.
Given the shift in tone from the show and how noticeable it is that they cut back on the pulse-pounding fire element, a shorter episode count works in the series’ favor.
They have less time to dawdle with arcs that seem aimless and dragged out to fill up time, and it means the writing will be tighter, which is something the series requires at this stage.
Shorter seasons aren’t necessarily a bad thing in that regard. But whittling away at seasons where it just barely meets the double digits is an entirely different thing.
The former shows can benefit from shorter orders because of the stories they’re telling. Frankly, I’d also add a series like Elsbeth to the list. Its formatting lends itself to a shorter episode order, and it wouldn’t have much impact on the show overall.
Where they’ve lost me completely is with cutting down the episode count for NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney.
The move feels more like a maneuver to make room for NCIS: New York. But it would make more sense to start that series off with ten episodes, not throw 20 of them at us at the expense of series we already know and love.
There’s no guarantee that yet another addition to the franchise will even find success.
Many viewers have already been frustrated by Sam’s tendency to take over everything whenever he appears on other shows in the franchise.
Presently, that’s been an issue with NCIS, and it was also a factor that derailed NCIS: Hawaii.
But paring away at NCIS: Origins and Sydney to make this schedule work is absolutely maddening. NCIS: Sydney has proven this season that it can handle a full episode count, and it’s been the strongest season of the series thus far.
They barely got to settle into 20 episodes, and now they’re being cut in half again. And not only that, but after such an exciting season, it means we’ll have to wait practically a year before it returns to us again.
It’s the price they pay for being great, I suppose.
A full-episode order allowed Sydney to delve deeper into its great cast of characters. They felt the most fleshed out that they’ve been, and the season introduced a compelling, twisty conspiracy arc that played out wonderfully throughout.
Sydney became one of the most fun series in the franchise, finding the perfect formula for its team dynamic without sacrificing characters or screen time.
We’ve gotten a taste of what Sydney can do with a larger episode order, and it’s impressive. Cutting them back down after that seems cruel.
And then there’s NCIS: Origins, which, if you ask me, is effortlessly one of the greatest shows airing on network television right now.
There’s this vibe that maybe the reduced orders are a way to make shows on broadcast television, “event TV” instead, which mostly sounds like turning primetime into streaming series.
But if there’s any show on CBS delivering high-caliber storytelling that rivals the best of streaming, it’s NCIS: Origins. The series is already giving us acclaimed storytelling.
Every episode is at least as good as, if not better than, the previous one, and the series itself feels like an ode to the artistry of storytelling. Origins proves that even a franchise spinoff can carve out its own unique space and be a work of art.
It’s a special series that I actually look forward to each week, and it turns the traditional procedural on its head while still feeling like appointment television. We don’t need less of a show like that; we need more.
The travesty here is knowing that a series that could still find a sweet spot with 18, 16, and maybe even 13 episodes will now have to work its magic in ten.
My heart already aches at that loss. A renewal and ten episodes are better than no return at all. But there’s also the general frustration that we’ve reached the point where we have to accept whatever we can get in the first place.
While shows like NCIS: Sydney have already shown that they can manage well enough with shorter episode orders, and Origins is so incredibly well-written across the board, I have faith that we won’t see a dip in quality.
We still can’t pretend like this doesn’t severely hamstring the shows we love.
Both series have truly found their groove, disrupting them again right after that is like pulling the rug from beneath their feet.
And in this age where if shows don’t perform a specific way or barely have space to stumble before a network swings the ax and is on to the next thing, it feels like two great series could be set up for failure with such a setback.
Reductions often feel like a prelude to cancellations, and the mere idea of that is too devastating to mull over.
So, yeah, we’re technically getting more content on the slate, but at what cost?
I’m just a NCIS: Origins and NCIS: Sydney Girlie, deeply in my feelings, because I want more of my faves, not less. Anyway… It’s like yelling into the void sometimes — so if you’re out there, holler back.
Comments, shares, and good vibes all keep this little ship afloat. Thanks for reading.
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