This month, Netflix released its first original series called “House of Cards,” a thrilling political drama series starring Kevin Spacey. While the series itself has generated positive reviews, the format of the show has competitors chatting.
The burden of scheduled airing has an enormous impact on the storytelling of a television show. Writers often insert false cliffhangers for commercials and endings, which can cause the story to feel convoluted or fabricated. Limited blocks of time can force writers to cut material that could be beneficial to the development of the show, or conversely, they may have to add elements that are not necessary.
What has really set “House of Cards” apart from the rest is its freedom from a traditional scheduling. The episodes are written in a way that flows smoothly without commercial interruptions, and vary in length so that each story can be told in as little or as much time as needed. In addition, the entire season is released at once, which caters to the tendency of most of Netflix viewers to binge-view episodes. Writers do not have to recap viewers on what happened a week ago in the previous episode because they know that most will watch multiple episodes in a sitting.
“House of Cards” is also shaking up the works in the media critique department. Far too often a series won’t even make it through the first season because of criticism. TV critics usually have to make evaluations based on only fragments. With “House of Cards,” that model is challenged. Critics can write a review of the show based on the entirety of the season.
Although this new format has a slew of advantages, it also presents some challenges. For one, there’s no money being made on advertising, but the show is intended to attract subscriptions in exchange for exclusive content.
The simultaneous release of every episode in the season may also create hurdles. Shows like “The Walking Dead” and “Mad Men” have enormous social media followings based on the anticipation between airings. Fans are less likely to discuss a single episode, and no longer create a buzz from speculation about what might happen next week. Social chatter is further dampened by the fact that not all viewers have finished the series. Spoilers are hard to avoid when every viewer watches at a different pace.
Despite drawbacks, Netflix studios seems confident the $100 million spent on “House of Cards” was money well spent. Netflix content chief Ted Sarandos told CNET that relative to other expenditures, “House of Cards” is doing more than its fair share to bring in subscriptions.
“We can control the content cost that ultimately controls pricing. We try to make it more and more accessible to more and more people,” Sarandos said.
Netflix took a gamble on the shaky structure of “House of Cards,” but it doesn’t look like it’ll come tumbling down any time soon.