Would Arrowverse shows be better with closer to 13 episodes?

[Bossace]

So watching Black Lightning I enjoyed the shorter format season with less fluff episodes. I feel like in the longer seasons we get a lot of fluff piece episode and season arcs just get too drawn out. How would you feel about the arrowverse shows having around a 13 episode season? Maybe a couple more episodes if needed. That way the plot doesn’t get so carried away as I’m seeing this season of the flash being. Or possibly what some shows do like for example what Once Upon a Time did was take fall and spring half as 2 different distinct chapters? Just curious about everyone else’s thoughts.

[AJBopp]

So watching Black Lightning I enjoyed the shorter format season with less fluff episodes. I feel like in the longer seasons we get a lot of fluff piece episode and season arcs just get too drawn out. How would you feel about the arrowverse shows having around a 13 episode season? Maybe a couple more episodes if needed. That way the plot doesn’t get so carried away as I’m seeing this season of the flash being. Or possibly what some shows do like for example what Once Upon a Time did was take fall and spring half as 2 different distinct chapters? Just curious about everyone else’s thoughts.

Or you could have 2-4 stories per season

[Immortal Weapon]

Arrowverse shows need better people writing them. A shorter season won't help that.

[Matt]

Or you could have 2-4 stories per season

Agents of SHIELD has had notable success with this approach - last season, for example, mixing LMDs and Ghost Rider.

[Sandy Hausler]

Or you could have 2-4 stories per season

Totally agree. I have been saying that for years. There is no reason that the heroes should face one challenge, which lasts the whole season.

Sandy Hausler

[Agent Z]

Totally agree. I have been saying that for years. There is no reason that the heroes should face one challenge, which lasts the whole season.

Sandy Hausler

If these guys have trouble with just one story across a season, I can't see them handling more than that across a season. Instead of one bad story, you've now got four.

[Agent Z]

Arrowverse shows need better people writing them. A shorter season won't help that.

Maybe. Maybe not. But a shorter season means less filler and getting to the damn point a lot quicker.

[Jekyll]

The first and second seasons of both Flash and Arrow were fantastic. I was hooked every episode, so it proves that they can maintain quality through a long season. I’m not sure what the answer is as I am close to not even caring anymore. With The Flash I understand they wanted to get away from a speedster villain, but I have NO IDEA why they chose The Thinker. Even in the comics he is a lame villain.

[Frontier]

I dunno. I feel like the plot and stories would probably be more concise, but we'd also probably lose out on certain episodes that you can only do or have in longer-running seasons.

The first and second seasons of both Flash and Arrow were fantastic. I was hooked every episode, so it proves that they can maintain quality through a long season. I’m not sure what the answer is as I am close to not even caring anymore. With The Flash I understand they wanted to get away from a speedster villain, but I have NO IDEA why they chose The Thinker. Even in the comics he is a lame villain.

I think the problem with The Thinker was when they started switching bodies. Nobody could top Sandilands.

[Zero Hunter]

Or you could have 2-4 stories per season

That would be the preferred choice for me. Maybe have a few things linking the stories together, but a full story for half the season and full story for the second half would work so much better. Agents of SHIELD to me showed how it works so much better with how they did it last season, and it gets rid of the need for so many lame filler episodes or having the main cast chase their tails just to stretch it until the finale.

[RikWriter]

Mark me down as another who can't stand a whole season devoted to one villain. I don't mind the longer seasons, but they need to switch arcs at least midway through. I hate the plot gymnastics they have to go through to keep them from beating the villain until the 26th episode.

[Cyke]

In general I support the idea, but even then that's no guarantee. Nickelodeon would have Power Rangers do your usual season long arcs but show only 6 episodes in the fall and then another 6 in the spring or summer, meaning *a lot* of redundant reruns. Even moreso when you consider they're merely 30 minute episodes rather than an hour!

And then there's Marvel's handling of it in different ways. Agents of SHIELD gets 22 episodes, and of those only an occasional episode is filler (if that) but for all my complaints, they're remarkably tight. The seasons for the Netflix shows are half as long, but they're pretty big on padding just to reach the 13 episode mark. The Netflix shows are good but even with a reduced episode count, they still have fairly pointless episodes or acts.

So a truncated season is no guarantee that it'll improve the writing.

[Sandy Hausler]

If these guys have trouble with just one story across a season, I can't see them handling more than that across a season. Instead of one bad story, you've now got four.

Don't know where you get that. Very few of the stories in the Arrowverse have been overtly bad (and I know some of you disagree vehemently with me on this; even I would admit that the first season of Legends was abysmal), but they have been bloated. If the stories are shorter, they will likely be better. That's just my opinion, of course.

Sandy Hausler

[Sandy Hausler]

In general I support the idea, but even then that's no guarantee. Nickelodeon would have Power Rangers do your usual season long arcs but show only 6 episodes in the fall and then another 6 in the spring or summer, meaning *a lot* of redundant reruns. Even moreso when you consider they're merely 30 minute episodes rather than an hour!

And then there's Marvel's handling of it in different ways. Agents of SHIELD gets 22 episodes, and of those only an occasional episode is filler (if that) but for all my complaints, they're remarkably tight. The seasons for the Netflix shows are half as long, but they're pretty big on padding just to reach the 13 episode mark. The Netflix shows are good but even with a reduced episode count, they still have fairly pointless episodes or acts.

So a truncated season is no guarantee that it'll improve the writing.

I would think the average story should be no more than five episodes. Some could be longer. Some could be one offs. The season could stay the same length.

Sandy Hausler

[protege]

Much as i hate to say it, i think so; i gave up on flash and supergirl because the season arcs haven’t really interested me; too much filler,too much personal drama with characters i don’t particularly care about, and lack of compelling villains. I seem to prefer some of the stand alone episodes over the main storyline arcs. Legends is my favorite because it’s shorter, and is more of an ensemble show, which doesn’t get too bogged down in the personal stuff.