More Shows Should Copy The End of the F***ing World’s Short Run-time
So I started watching The End of the F***ing World on Netflix this week, and I’m not done with it yet but I’m really loving what I’ve seen so far. What I’m finding to be one of the best parts about it though is that they decided to use a short 20 minute run-time per episode that’s usually only reserved for sitcoms – and as an adult, parent, business owner and especially gamer… I love it!
What is a real bummer though is that I’m aware that there are only 8 episodes, meaning that this whole season is barely as long as two and a half episodes of Black Mirror, but maybe that will change going forward. What I do love is that I can sit down and get a decent helping of a really interesting, well written adult show in just 20 minutes. You know what that means?
[Look back at the header image now, then come back.]
Welcome back from the header image. Yes, more time for other things you wanna do like play all those great video games, do that thing you wanted to do or even… *gasp* sleep (I don’t do that one much, I’ll be honest). Now I know what you’re saying, why not just pause the longer episode. Well you see, you can but it always leaves things hanging and you don’t quite know where you’re at when you get back. It’s way better when a clever person whose job it is to make TV shows plans and executes the perfect spot for you to start and stop watching, so that you always get a great little package of goodness. If you want more, you can just let the next episode continue. It feels like a win-win this way around.
In this day and age of having so much to do, and also especially as a gamer who prefers that as their main form of entertainment, it feels like too much of a commitment to sit through a whole hour some nights, never mind an entire movie. In this modern age, time is getting more and more precious and now that I’m a parent, my evenings often only start at 9PM, so an extra 40 minutes of time PLUS the feeling that I’ve watched an episode of something is currently feeling pretty awesome.
Maybe it’s just me, many of you have way more free time than I do, some of you have way less, so it’s different for everybody. For me, 20 minute versions of adult story-driven shows is something I didn’t know I wanted until I got one. More of this for me please.
