I’m sorry but I’m so sick and tired of people calling out Chernobyl or True Detective as some of the best “seasons of television” because they’re not.

They’re miniseries. They have a beginning point and an end point. It’s a hell of a lot easier to write a single season of tv when you know it’s going to end when it’s over. As opposed to tv shows that have to set themselves up for longer character and plot arcs beyond their seasons or have to conclude a multi season arc.

They aren’t tv seasons - they’re miniseries and shouldn’t be in consideration.

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Royal-Geologist587 t1_j2fpqxv wrote on December 31, 2022 at 10:59 PM

What? Most good series do have a written beginning and end, and true detective is not a mini series

MrEntropy44 t1_j2fw64h wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:48 PM

This. We shouldn't celebrate corporate television meta being to either cancel things before they finish or run them 15 seasons past their prime.

Would love to see more recognition for mini series.

ddbaxte t1_j2fwpde wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:52 PM

True Detective had 3 seasons, someone correct me if I'm wrong?

rocker2014 t1_j2fqnnr wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:06 PM

I disagree. It's just as hard to write something that has a beginning, middle, and end. Probably even more difficult than writing something that you don't have to write a final end.

A season of TV still does have to have an ending. A miniseries is just a definitive ending. A season of a running show has the luxury of not having to figure out how to end it right away.

The ending is what makes something impressive overall. Something like Dexter, that had great seasons, has been taken down a few notches because of its bad seasons and bad ending. Even Game of Thrones, which was generally considered still very good going into the final season botched the ending and has lessened its impact.

Something like Better Call Saul will have longevity because it ended well. It's great seasons will live on because it ended well.

A miniseries has to consistently hold that same quality for all episodes while also including the payoff of a satisfying ending.

Something like Severance could shit the bed with a season 2 if they don't have it planned out (I don't think it will, just using a recent example). Like Heroes did back in the day. And even a miniseries could start with a great premise and pilot but just fizzle by the end of the series. So when a miniseries holds it the whole way and ends well, it's impressive.

Endings are hard. Leaving something open and not having to explain everything is a lot easier.

pm_me_reason_to_livx t1_j2fpzwe wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:01 PM

i mean... it's still television though... why make that (what's the word i'm looking for here?)

most shows get cancelled after one season too anyways... do those count?

Dayofsloths t1_j2funs3 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:37 PM

I disagree, we should make it three categories.

Miniseries, series, and megaseries.

urgasmic t1_j2fvpwk wrote on December 31, 2022 at 11:45 PM

i agree, i prefer separating miniseries/anthology, comedy, and drama in these types of discussions.