Over the summer, a colleague of mine recommended a new Hulu show called The Bear. I was impressed with the premise and immediately went looking for where I could stream it. A quick search revealed that it’s set to hit Disney Plus in the UK (we don’t have Hulu), but unfortunately a launch date hasn’t been set yet.
After several months of waiting, in early October, the first season of The Bear dropped entirely on Disney Plus via its Star channel. I haven’t forgotten the positive reception he received when he debuted in the US in June, and blasted off eagerly for the first episode last weekend. I was instantly hooked, and less than 48 hours later, I had used up the entire season.
This may not seem like a particularly big problem. After all, Season 1 of The Bear is only split into eight parts and episodes average less than 30 minutes in length. Honestly, most people probably watch longer parties in less time. But the speed with which I polished The Bear is important because I hate binge-watching. Or at least, I thought I did.
Why don’t I like binge-watching
I’ve written before about my feelings of binge-watching, but in short, I think it’s not how TV shows are designed to be consumed. Having a gap between episodes allows you to sit down and absorb the events of each episode before moving on to the next episode. In my experience, the subtleties of a long character arc or storyline of development are often lost slowly as episode after episode rips without stopping. All misty events in one forgettable mass.
I also really enjoy the online discussion and theorizing that comes with the weekly TV shows. House of the Dragon on HBO Max is a great example of a talk show that I enjoyed so much because I was part of intense conversations between episodes. I loved reading internet theories and wild predictions as much as I enjoyed watching the show itself. And I can confidently say that if House of the Dragon were to be dropped at once Netflix-style, I’d probably be less fond of fantasy drama.
Bear came along
That brings us to The Bear, and the fact that my appreciation for the series was actually boosted by watching the entire season over one weekend. That’s because I’ve found The Bear to be ideally suited to binge-watching with a view like House of The Dragon isn’t.
The Bear, which focuses on a luxury chef who returns home to Chicago to run his late, failed brother’s restaurant, is a pretty cool show. It’s easily the best series I’ve watched since the Succession series began in April. And while I was somewhat inclined to savor The Bear rather than rush through the entire series, it felt oddly suited to binge-watching.
Perhaps that was the duration of the short episode, or maybe each episode felt like a mini-play, with the gap between episodes being more of a short break rather than a full break in the action. Whatever the exact reason once I started, I couldn’t stop until I reached the satisfying final moments of the season finale.
Just as watching House of the Dragon Season 1 was improved by a weekly gap between each new chapter, my enjoyment of The Bear was honored by devouring the entire series in just two days. My (near) global exclusion from binge-watching may have been exaggerated, and my consumption method must be decided on a show-by-view basis.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to consuming TV shows, some can be improved by waiting longer before the next episodes start, but some can also benefit from consuming them at a fast pace. And that’s what The Bear taught me, I may not like binge-watching most of the time, but for some TV shows, it’s the best way to watch.
[ad_2]
