Netflix Exhibits Are Struggling As a result of It Takes Too Lengthy For Them To Return

Fubar. (L to R) Carrie-Anne Moss as Greta Nelso, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Luke Brunner in episode 203 of Fubar. Cr. Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix © 2025

Final week, FUBAR returned after a 25-month wait since its preliminary launch on Netflix, and it bombed. Arduous. By our rely, it has misplaced 80% of its viewership. Whereas there are in all probability a number of contributing to audiences leaving reveals, the size of time we have now to attend for reveals to return has grow to be more and more noticeable in recent times and whereas there are circumstances outdoors of Netflix’s management, holding with the established order goes to lead to extra canceled reveals and contribute to Netflix’s rising library of unfinished titles. 

Why are we having to attend so lengthy? What affect is it having on reveals? How lengthy do Netflix reveals take to return again? 

How lengthy is it taking for reveals to return again?

Analyzing returning reveals from the previous yr, we’ve decided that the common time it takes for a Netflix Authentic scripted English-language live-action collection is simply over 20 months, which is roughly two years (see the desk beneath for extra particulars). 

We’ve purposely excluded animation right here, on condition that seasons are sometimes ordered upfront, equivalent to Tomb Raider, which was all the time deliberate to have two seasons. Though once they’re not initially deliberate and are given renewals, as seen in Blood of Zeus and ultimately Blue Eye Samurai, they too take a rare period of time to return, with Blood of Zeus taking virtually 4 years to return to our screens. Within the case of that present, the collection misplaced all momentum by the discharge of Season 2 and wasn’t granted a fourth-season renewal. 

The Influence of Ready So Lengthy

The Recruit, That ’90s Present, and now FUBAR are the plain greatest casualties of this extended ready, on condition that their viewership fell off a cliff between seasons 1 and a couple of and had been swiftly canceled (properly, FUBAR hasn’t been simply but, but it surely’s coming). These reveals might not have had a robust sufficient hook to reel individuals in initially, and once you make them wait practically two years, individuals lose all bearing on the plotline and any emotional funding within the present.

As we reported earlier this yr, the affect of reveals returning after such an extended interval signifies that viewership has probably shifted. Out of all of the returning 2024 reveals, Netflix’s viewership knowledge counsel that just one present grew its viewers: Bridgerton, which rose 13% from season 2 to three. Nearly all of different returning reveals weren’t so fortunate:

• The Lincoln Lawyer – Barely up 
• Heartbreak Excessive – Down 3%
• Virgin River – Down 6%
• Emily in Paris – Down 9%
• Outer Banks – Down 15%
• Cobra Kai – Down 26%
• Candy Tooth – Down 26%
• Vikings: Valhalla – Down 29%
• Heartstopper – Down 30%
• The Umbrella Academy – Down 36%
• The Diplomat – Down 37%
• That ’90s Present – Down 79% (!)

The Lincoln Lawyer and Bridgerton look like exceptions to the rule talked about in that article, each of that are the largest reveals on Netflix (high 20%), so for each different present, you’re primarily hoping that you just’ve not misplaced an excessive amount of viewers and praying you get a thumbs up for extra.

Some main exams are coming as much as gauge individuals’s tolerance for ready. Stranger Issues could have a 40-month hole between Season 4, Quantity 2 and Season 5, Quantity 1 (roughly 3 years and 4 months), however on condition that it truly is one among Netflix’s greatest reveals in its roster, we suspect that received’t matter an excessive amount of. As we’ll come onto although, Stranger Issues extended waits between its previous few seasons haven’t completely been its fault… 

Different large exams arising are whether or not Wednesday and One Piece can obtain the identical success as their first seasons, given the size of time they’ve taken to return.

Why do reveals take so lengthy to return again?

Not like the “good outdated cable days” when reveals returned reliably yearly with 20+ episodes, at present’s panorama typically leaves us with simply 6-10 episodes adopted by agonizingly lengthy waits. This drawback isn’t restricted to Netflix by any means, however it’s a drawback with the present make-up of scripted reveals. 

So, why do these reveals take so lengthy to return again?

There are a bunch of the reason why reveals take longer. For one, they’re extra complicated than the community fare of 20 years in the past, with larger casts and extra complicated visible results. Then add to the truth that post-production is now quite a bit longer, on condition that Netflix is having to dub every present for dozens of areas along with prepping subtitles. 

This brings us to a different crucial problem: actor availability. As a result of streaming seasons are sometimes a lot shorter, actors are hardly ever booked completely for one undertaking year-round, like they was. This implies an actor would possibly movie a Netflix present for six months, then instantly leap to a film or one other collection for the latter half of the yr. Coordinating their return for a subsequent season of the Netflix present then turns into a fancy puzzle, depending on their demanding exterior schedules. Now, multiply this logistical nightmare throughout a complete ensemble forged, and the true extent of the scheduling ‘mess’, and the resultant delays grow to be clear.

In fact, we are able to’t focus on reveals returning over the previous 5 years with out mentioning two monumental disruptions to Hollywood (and certainly, international) productions: COVID, which shut down manufacturing in 2020 after which considerably impacted productions for the following yr or so afterward, and the writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023.

Stranger Issues is arguably the present that has been hit hardest by this double whammy. Season 4 was severely disrupted by COVID, and season 5 was hit squarely within the face by the strikes. In each cases, manufacturing was both extended and hindered by extra prices or halted altogether for a interval.

Stranger Issues – Credit score: ANDREW COOPER

Whereas these disruptions undeniably exacerbated the issue for reveals like Stranger Issues, the prolonged hiatuses we’re seeing now typically persist even with out such monumental exterior components. Contemplate three British reveals that obtained swift renewals: The Gents season 2 has solely only recently gotten again into manufacturing, probably aiming for a 2026 launch. Equally, Black Doves and Supacell, each rapidly greenlit, have seen their production dates pushed back, making a 2026 return look extra like an optimistic hope than a certainty.

Splitting up seasons has helped some reveals attain our screens sooner. Cobra Kai is an effective instance of that, with Quantity 1 releasing while later episodes had been nonetheless within the modifying bay. Nonetheless, this tactic is commonly extra of a short lived repair than a complete resolution to the underlying delays.

To Netflix’s credit score, we’ve seen a promising shift lately, with writers’ rooms being assembled a lot sooner than earlier than. Virgin River, since very early on within the present, has all the time had new seasons in growth lengthy forward of recent seasons premiering on Netflix. Exhibits like The Diplomat and My Life with the Walter Boys had their writing processes underway even earlier than their shares seasons aired. The identical proactive method applies to One Piece and Wednesday, which have been in energetic growth on their potential third seasons all through this yr, even with out official renewals. This early begin ought to, in concept, shorten the hole between seasons, however typically simply makes us not wait three years as an alternative of two.

But, because the examples of Ransom Canyon and PULSE present, the place future installments stay undecided months after preliminary growth, the issue persists. Finally, the longer the lag for an official renewal, the longer the watch for manufacturing, and the longer it takes for these extremely anticipated reveals to ever attain our screens.

So, what’s the reply to those ever-growing waits? One apparent resolution is likely to be for Netflix to decide to extra episodes upfront or upon renewal, probably permitting productions to movie back-to-back to get new content material out sooner. We’ve seen this occur earlier than, like with Avatar: The Final Airbender, 3 Physique Downside, and Candy Tooth, which have obtained multi-season renewals which have given us episodes a lot sooner.

Nonetheless, this method calls for a considerable dedication, particularly upfront. If the viewers doesn’t flip up within the first place, the streamer is left “holding the bag,” having wasted vital time, artistic sources, and cash on content material that fails to resonate. 

Virtually all different options I’ve seen floated, equivalent to dramatically compressing manufacturing schedules or making different shortcuts, would lead to a diminished product. So, actually, this ongoing problem for streaming providers like Netflix comes right down to hanging the best stability between getting new episodes to viewers sooner and never giving up on the premium high quality that audiences now demand.

How do you assume Netflix ought to velocity up its manufacturing course of on its reveals?