One of the common criticisms with the Marvel Netflix series, in particular during their infancy, was that the episode length didn’t justify the entire season’s worth. Take Luke Cage, for example, where some had more issues with the Diamondback portion of the season versus the Cottonmouth storyline in the first half. And to be fair, things did appear to be changing, such as Iron Fist having a shorter second season compared to the first. But Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and now Daredevil have now been bitten by the cancellation bug, but why?
There are various reasons that have been explained thus far, at least as far as Luke Cage and Iron Fist are concerned, but Daredevil had more consistent praise compared to the other Marvel Netflix programs. In a way, it may have been seen as untouchable if ever the opportunity arose for it to possibly get the axe. As we know now, that’s not the case, and it turns out that the higher-ups at Marvel and Netflix disagreed on how much story to tell.
This comes courtesy of Matthew Ball, a former strategy head at Amazon, who took to Twitter to give a lengthy explanation as to why these Marvel Netflix series have been cancelled. Among his many explanations was a bit that mentioned how Netflix wanted to shorten the length of the seasons from 13 to a mere six to eight episodes. This would, in turn, reduce the amount of money spent, but improve retention and quality at the same time. Disney and Marvel, though, balked at that suggestion.
There’s more in Ball’s discussion, such as the fact that the shows would not, as far as he believes, be revived on the likes of Hulu or Amazon. More than that, the Marvel characters would probably be in a period of hibernation for a few years. So any cancelled programs might have its characters put on ice at the moment. Here, have a look at Ball’s explanation in the thread below:
10/ Netflix reportedly wanted to shorten the seasons, thereby reducing total spend and improving retention and quality (Netflix’s shows, especially the Marvel ones, are famously bloated). Reportedly from 13 eps to 6-8.https://t.co/FduR4bW4I8
— Matthew Ball (@ballmatthew) December 3, 2018
It’s not an unreasonable proposal, mind you. With how much people prefer their entertainment in short bursts when given the chance, Netflix wanted to shorten the length to ensure fans would stick around. An in a way, the shorter second season of Iron Fist could be seen as more beneficial, more so given the critical reception of the first one. But again, Daredevil always seemed to have a leg up on its street level MCU brethren, given how well that show was received compared to the others.
So now it seems that we’re just waiting for the axe to drop on The Punisher and Jessica Jones– the latter of which is still filming at the moment- and if they go the way of Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil. But what do you think of Netflix’s proposal? Would you have been fine with a shortened season length for the Marvel Netflix series? Or did you prefer the length of them as is? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Twitter
