So Late last week Netflix released the first season of it's first real entry into 'prestige' television: House of Cards. Apart from Streaming services like Netflix getting into the original programming game, the big news about House it that all thirteen episodes were unleashed upon the internet at once. It's an interesting experiment in content distribution and while I'm not sure this model would work for every show for House the strategy was perfect.
A lot of the reservations people seemed to have about all thirteen of House of Cards' episodes being released at once centered around their fear of binge-viewing. Of course many people binge-view shows all the time, either to catch up on a program they've fallen behind on or enjoy a marathon of an old favorite. But this marks the first time a new series lends itself to, and even invites, the audience devouring it over a course of days or hours. And with new content comes the fear of dreaded Spoilers.
There were some fears that in order to avoid having surprises ruined for them by the earliest watchers, viewers would have to race through the series quickly themselves, a race that would leave many frustrated rather than enthralled. Luckily, those problems never came to light. Internet writers, by and large, were cautious about both the timing and detail of their reviews. Social media chatter about the series was relatively quiet as well (Though this is likely less out of respect than it is about how niche House of Cards is. For contrast, the ending of last week's New Girl was spread everywhere within hours). It remains to be seen if dodging spoilers will be as easy when Arrested Development, a massive and growing cult-hit, premieres out its new season under the same model this spring. But for now at least, Netflix's strategy avoids any major pitfalls.
In fact, I'd argue that House of Cards is exactly the type of show that benefits greatly from an all-at-once rollout. The first few episodes, while solid, are notably less engaging than the rest of the series though the potential for greatness is clear. Having the entire season available made me far more willing to keep moving through this slow patch and on to the next episode, where for shows airing on television I may have abandoned it after a couple of weeks deciding it wasn't for me (Sorry The Americans...). Furthermore, I got to set my own pace with the series, never feeling either rushed or in a state of painful anticipation. Over the weekend and into Monday I saw the first eight episodes, averaging about 2 a day, only to marathon through the last five in a period of twelve hours. This is exactly the sort of pacing most series strive for over the course of a season--steadily ramping up the plots and tension before it builds towards a race to the finale--but House of Cards' distribution lets the audience replicate that arc not just within the story but in how they choose to consume it
For all the unique release House of Cards was given its easy to forget sometimes that it is still a television show (albeit one not airing on television), with all of the structural quirks that the medium entails. Binge-viewing makes the few relatively stand-alone "breather" episodes stand out all the more and, perhaps in an effort to make Spoilers less dangerous, the finale doesn't quite feel climactic enough, ultimately working better as a teaser for season 2 than a decisive episode in its own right.* And yet these minor irritants are only to be expected. House of Cards and Netflix's treatment of it is breaking new ground in the medium, and it opens up some fascinating possibilities for the future.
*It is entirely possible my expectations were too high. The BBC House of Cards features one of the more memorable season finales I can remember.
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