“Say Nothing” is — potentially — FX’s next big hit. That’s not faint praise given FX’s last two big hits just became two of the biggest winners in the history of the Emmys earlier this year.
In fact, FX’s involvement in this show about the Troubles in Northern Ireland is a big reason why it’s one of my most anticipated shows of the rest of 2024. Yes, I’m also excited about a historical drama covering the IRA’s activities in Belfast from the 1970s to the ’90s, but FX rarely misses with its shows. So if it’s backing this one, it’s probably good.
So it’s baffling me that FX has decided to release this show using the binge-drop model. Especially since this isn’t something that FX typically does.
Binge-drops have one fatal flaw
Last year, our streaming editor Kelly Woo reported on binge drops vs. weekly episode drops and there was a statistic in that article that really jumped out at me. According to a 2023 report from Parrot Analytics “Of the 100 most in-demand TV series in the US from January to May of 2023, 75 released weekly.”
That’s 75% of the top 100 shows. That’s not a small sample size. Even more damning, just nine of those top 100 shows were released via binge/partial binge according to Parrot’s report.
This is why, frankly, most streaming services still stick to weekly release schedules and eschew the binge-drop model. FX, as a more traditional cable network studio basically never does it, with its notable exception being “The Bear,” which many would argue would benefit from a weekly release schedule.
Even Netflix, which popularized the binge-drop, does it less and less now, even putting some of its shows on weekly episodic releases — though typically those releases are still small episode batches rather than just single episodes.
However, correlation does not always equal causation. Just because a show is a weekly drop does not mean it’s a top show or vice versa. But it does mean that will likely talk about it longer.
I’ll still be watching ‘Say Nothing’ next week — but will we still be talking about it the week after?
If you’ve ever heard of the “watercooler effect,” this is what it’s talking about. Granted, nobody gathers around watercoolers anymore, but we still go to virtual and real gathering spaces to discuss the latest trending shows regularly.
And the biggest watercooler effect shows are always weekly releases. Well … almost. Weirdly, “The Bear” is, again, a rare exception here. But even shows like “The Witcher” and “Stranger Things” fade from the collective consciousness faster than shows like “Succession” and “Game of Thrones,” even though they’re inarguably popular, successful shows.
So I am really worried that “Say Nothing” will be gone from our conversations as quickly as it came since FX is dropping the entire nine-episode season on Hulu (or Disney Plus if you’re in the U.K. and Ireland) at once on November 14. Or, even worse, that it’ll actually be really good and still be largely forgotten. We’ve already seen that with certain shows this year, most notably Netflix’s “3 Body Problem.”
I’ll readily admit though, that maybe I’m wrong. For the record, I don’t think I’m wrong. But these studios often know what they’re doing, especially FX and its chairman John Landgraf. Maybe I’m just biased as someone who writes about the industry.
After all, if you look at our article where we asked Tom’s Guide staff if they preferred a binge release or weekly release, most opted for the binge model. Though notably, the two editors on the streaming team did not.
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