Binge Viewing is Forcing Showrunners to Evolve

Is “binge-viewing” changing the way writers approach TV series? That is the focus of a recent Variety article. Some observations in it from a handful of notable showrunners:

D.B. Weiss, partnered with David Benioff on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” says: “From the outset, the goal with ‘Game’ was to tell a single, coherent, 70-plus-hour story, with a beginning, middle and end.”

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“Exposition is the writer’s enemy,” says Simon Blackwell, co-exec-prod of HBO’s “Veep,” which posts all old episodes on HBO Go. “It would be wonderful if we could guarantee everyone would binge-watch it, because you have to keep bringing back a plot point for episode 6, which, if people were watching in a three- or four-hour swoop, they would remember from episode 4.”

“Veep” seeks to satisfy sipper and big gulper alike. “We have a story arc for the entire season, but we also try to make each episode make sense in itself and its story to wrap up, yet still pull you into the next episode.”

“Game of Thrones,” with its multiple story arcs, raises transition concerns. “Discontinuities between episodes that used to be minor issues stand out a lot more when you’re rolling right from one episode into another,” Weiss says. “The knowledge that many people will be watching them back to back informs those choices.”

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In the end, Blackwell’s bullishness on binging — “I think it could possibly be a richer experience” — is applicable to all these series. “You’d be attuned to the characters more acutely than if you were watching on a weekly basis,” he says. “You’d be immersed in the world more. Like a bath of ‘Veep,’ instead of a series of showers.”

A 70-plus-hour story, with a beginning, middle and end. How’d you like to have that on your creative plate! More background on this phenomenon:

Are you a ‘bing-er’? If so, you’re not alone. An estimated 70% of Americans are. Is this you?

What TV series do you binge-view and why? How do you see this changing how writers approach TV series? Any residual impact on movies?

For the rest of the Variety article, go here.

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