Four seasons–I’m excited to explore this new world. Eight seasons–I don’t know if I can commit to this franchise. Twelve seasons–I’m not even going to bother wasting my time watching something I know I’m never going to finish. When it comes to finding a new show to watch, the entertainment industry has moved from short, high-caliber shows to unwarrantedly long, low-grade ones. Simply put, franchises need to know when to stop releasing more movies or seasons because at some point it’s not worth the audience’s attention anymore.
Whether it’s movies or TV shows, franchises have become very prevalent in society today. Rather than making original content with new ideas and styles, the film industry prefers to continuously put out media with the same premise and characters. According to RadioTimes.com, the number of franchises has increased by 700 percent since 1993.
The reason remakes and sequels are so popular nowadays is because companies believe it to be a surefire way to make a profit. Companies know they won’t have to spend as much money or time getting writers and coming up with original ideas. It is also less risky because they already established a fan base for the series and have the potential to attract new fans as well. In fact, entirely all of the top-grossing films of 2024 follow this trend.
Being a franchise does not automatically mean that their next movie will suck or that sequels and remakes should not ever be made. A good live-action or reboot where we learn the backstory behind one of my favorite characters is not a problem in itself. However, there should be a limit to the number of times a singular film universe should do so.
For example, the popular series “Grey’s Anatomy” has over 20 seasons and 430 episodes with plans for more. No matter how much you add to the show over the years, how many times can one person watch doctors going about their lives? And, I’m tired of seeing Ethan Hunt in the “Mission: Impossible” movies attempt to save everyone and somehow narrowly survive each time.
If the story continues with the same characters and goals, it just feels as if there is no character development. The plot gets dragged out and eventually, you lose the audience. Even if a new cast takes over, the fact that it has so many of the same aspects to it, ultimately makes it repetitive and boring. If the movie’s legacy is good, leave it alone, because there are hardly any remakes or sequels that can match or outdo the original.
It is close to impossible to be completely innovative in this industry, with so many tropes and archetypes having already been done, but that is not what is being asked. What is necessary, is a new movie that has original components; for production to be limited to trilogies with a saga every once in a while. The entertainment industry needs to take a long look at itself and go back to prioritizing consumers, where quality is more important than quantity.
