MCU: Why Netflix's Marvel Experiment Failed
3. Too Many Shows, Too Many Episodes
Since launching back in 2015, there have been six different shows, 11 seasons, and 135 episodes in the Netflix Marvel Universe. That's, well, a hell of a lot.
Netflix expanded this corner of the MCU rapidly, and it's all been too much, especially in the crowded marketplace of Peak TV. What's been the real killer, though, is how many episodes each season has.
When Daredevil Season 1 was produced, it stuck to the tried-and-tested prestige television method of having a 13-episode season, which worked for the likes of The Wire and Mad Men, so you can see why Netflix landed on this number. It worked for Daredevil at first, and Jessica Jones' first season too, but since then every season of every show would've benefited from being tightened up.
Most could've been cut to 10, and some could've been chopped to eight or even six episodes. All of them are bloated, don't have enough plot to last through so many instalments, and suffer from terrible pacing issues. For this to happen once is forgivable, but when it's the same issues with every show, there's a serious failing and audiences are going to run out of patience eventually.