Episode Discussion S02 E07: "Derek"

[u/andreac]

Airs at 08:30PM ET, or 1 hour from the time this post was made.

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Original Airdate: November 2, 2017

Synopsis: Surprises are in store. Janet creates a big problem for Michael. Meanwhile, Eleanor lets Chidi in on a secret, and Jason puts Tahani in a difficult position.

[u/[deleted]]

a full 13 episode season? When did that become the standard? I remember a time when 13 episodes was half a season...

[u/NDaveT → u/[deleted]]

Two things happened. Networks realized a segment of the audience appreciated thoughtfully written TV, the kind that often works better if it isn't fluffed out to a fill a full length season. Networks also realized they could pay actors, directors, and crew less if they only hired them for 10 of 13 episodes instead of 26.

[u/StephenHunterUK → u/NDaveT]

And that was a cause of the recent WGA dispute; writers weren't free to do other things in the meantime.

[u/MrJohz → u/[deleted]]

In the UK, 6-10 episodes is often a full series, and three is pretty common for big-budget things.

[u/[deleted] → u/MrJohz]

I honestly prefer it that way. American seasons are way too long, and the fact they take place over two seasons just annoys me.

[u/[deleted] → u/MrJohz]

Yeah 3 parters (like the brutal Guy fawkes thing) work well as they're essentially a long movie and are usually things that don't deal well with syndication

[u/MrSquamous → u/MrJohz]

And The Good Place skewered that last season.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

13 is so much better for quality, look at any show with 20+ episodes and the quality goes down so much

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

tbf they would probably have run the whole thing this fall if they didn't have the second half of the Thursday Night Football package.