On Sunday, one of my all-time favourite television series, Arrested Development, returned to the airways after a seven year hiatus, only it can’t be watched on cable television.
The 15-episode fourth season of the quirky comedy returned as a Netflix exclusive, and all 15 episodes were launched to the online streaming site at the same time.
As a selective but avid television fan, there are times when I loathe the waiting period between episodes, like the current two-week wait for a new Game of Thrones that occurred as a result of Memorial Day weekend in the United States, or the seemingly never-ending wait for the return of Breaking Bad this summer.
I would love to watch all my favourite shows in a consistent manner that isn’t determined by weekly air times, but I don’t have the patience to wait for an entire season to air before watching it all.
Having awaited the return of Arrested Development for nearly a decade, I was thrilled to be able to jump right back into it and soak in the first five episodes of the season in a single sitting on Sunday afternoon, all without a single advertisement. It sure beats waiting 14 weeks to watch the whole thing, and no matter what my schedule says, a new episode will be waiting for me when I walk through the door tonight.
I was pleased to find that the quality of the show was unaffected, and while I couldn’t watch it in HD, I don’t really mind. It’s situational comedy, not sports.
So, could this be the future of entertainment? I for one sure hope so. I’ve never been one to use a PVR and I often resort to the Internet to find the shows that I want to watch anyway.
On that same note, having experienced high definition sports in the comfort of my living room, it’s unlikely that one would find me willing to stream a big game, but it still seems like it would be a natural progression for certain television series to move into the online realm.
The only issue these shows would face is the lack of advertising, which Netflix accounts for in membership fees. However, with a greater selection of high quality programming, and exclusive releases of full seasons at once, I could see myself shelling out more to cover a subscription if the time comes, and I’d even be willing to sit through an advertisement or two.
Would you like to see more television shows take to an online presence? Let us know in this week’s poll.
