A Sony TV executive has condemned the streaming industry for being ‘too data-driven’, blaming a focus on statistics as the reason for long gaps between seasons for hit shows like Euphoria and Stranger Things.
Speaking at the Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo in Rome, Sony Pictures TV President Katherine Pope criticized companies for slowing down their series renewal processes, calling the delays “absolutely intolerable.”
‘It’s so frustrating. These long delays are absolutely unsustainable and not fair to the fans.”
While he acknowledged that some of the delays may stem from “the sheer size of the productions,” Pope said that “some of it also comes from data-driven companies not wanting to pick something up until it premieres and waiting a while.” month.’
The veteran television executive also warned that the longer delays between seasons risked viewers not returning to programs they had previously seen.
Katherine Pope, president of Sony Pictures TV, criticized companies for slowing down their series renewal process. HBO’s House of the Dragon won’t return until 2026
Pope warned that the longer delays between seasons risked viewers not returning to programs they had previously seen. The Last of Us won’t return until next year after a two-year hiatus
The fifth and final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things will air in 2025, three years after the release of the previous season
“In such a saturated world, we cannot afford to lose fans,” she said. “It’s hard enough to get them.”
It’s not uncommon for viewers to sit down to watch their favorite TV series after patiently waiting for it to return, only to realize that it’s been so long since the previous season aired that they can’t remember what happened. has happened.
While Pope didn’t point any fingers, TV shows like HBO’s Euphoria and Netflix’s Stranger Things are just examples of the several shows that had long gaps between seasons, causing noticeable frustration among fans.
Euphoria, starring Zendaya, is expected to begin filming its third season in January, three years after season two aired. Season one came three years before that.
Meanwhile, the fifth and final season of the sci-fi show Stranger Things, starring Millie Bobby Brown and Winona Ryder, will air in 2025, also three years after the previous batch of episodes were released.
Happy Valley saw a seven-year gap between the second and third seasons
Euphoria, starring Zendaya, is expected to begin filming its third season in January, three years after season two aired. Season one came three years before that
The second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon aired in June, but won’t hit screens until 2026.
As for the 2023 post-apocalyptic hit, The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, it will return for its second season next year.
But BBC’s Happy Valley, which last aired in 2023, wins the award for longest interlude as actress Sarah Lancashire, who plays police sergeant Catherine Cawood, did not reprise her role in the crime drama for seven years after its release of the series. second season 2016.