Random Thought [S01E01] : Fear of a New Season

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Televisiophobia, a branch of media phobia, is the fear of watching television. It is not the fear of starting a new season but it is the fear of watching scenes that startle children. Hence it is not a phobia but only cynicism.

We all are inclined to see the reviews and ratings for new shows whose trailers are good enough to intrigue us before we start that show. And if it has scored 80% on rotten tomatoes and an average user rating of above 8 in IMDb, we surely have some fun watching the show.

Once you have enjoyed the first season or for that matter, any number of continuous seasons of a particular show one will always be anxious for the next season.

On seeing the new promo for the final season of Mr.Robot I have some fears. What if they could not conclude the series on a high note? What if this season is worse than its second outing? Don’t get me wrong the trailer was awesome. Check out the trailer here…

This fear of beginning a new season did not just start now but it surely was aggravated during May. In the first week, The Last of the Starks was aired and unlike others, I liked it quite a bit. I even said to my sibling that it was one of the best episodes of the series. On the month’s second week, the dreadful day came. The day the world saw The Bells, the episode was just awful and felt rushed (the word which is now often used to describe one of the best water cooler series of all time). That was the day when I gave up defending that show.

When I saw on the news that This is Us is renewed for three more seasons I was a bit skeptical. In the promos, they introduced us to the new characters whose lives will be touched in the upcoming seasons. And this is when my fear hit me the hardest. I believe in Dan Fogelman and his team, they were the ones who delivered us this beautiful family drama. I am not yet convinced that this story will have new content when they reach the endpoint. Fingers crossed that this won't turn into another soap opera.

Even before that, I was so cynical about the second season of Barry, and who would have believed this show would serve as an ointment for wounds created by GoT. It is one of those shows where the ending of the first season was so good that it doesn’t require a second season. Hiro Murai won me over in the very first scene of this season. Who would not want to see an episode like Ronny/Lily eh? Kudos to Bill Hader and the writing team (hope that they would win many Emmys this weekend).

Big Little Lies was a show whose first season was a perfect blending of both murder mystery and family drama. They had a good ending to this in their first seven episodic arcs. The show became the talk of the town due to its home run during the awards season, which eventually led to the renewal for a new season. Even the addition of Meryl Streep could not justify the renewal. Again, do not get me wrong, the season was not bad but it just couldn't live up to its predecessor.

These fears can be because some series don't shut shop before jumping the shark. How I Met Your Mother should have been one classical sitcom if it had its run cut short by two or three seasons. In hindsight, even the comedic gem like The Office or mad avenue masterpiece Mad Men suffers due to this fact. When it comes to current running shows one would surely point at the Modern Family. Some fans felt cheated by the twist on which they promoted the 10th season. Stranger things' charm is also running out with the release of each new season. And also add Suits to this list. I am all the more cynical about the second season of The End of the F***ing World.

I respect the shows which know when to finish a story. Fleabag, Breaking Bad, and Seinfeld are some shows which ended on their terms by not spoiling us the previous seasons.

Even with these fears, I want to see more seasons of the beloved FXX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Glow, Good place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Daredevil. Out of these Glow and Good Place have just one final season in their bag whereas Sunny hasn't been renewed for the record-breaking 15th season as of yet. Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a season left in its adopted home. With two seasons having a staggering 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes Daredevil is one of those shows which got caught in the streaming war.

Lucky me they renewed AP Bio for NBC'S new streaming service Peacock.

Am I a sucker for an Arrested Development episode? The moment I saw the conclusion for the first three seasons, which was perfect, I just wanted more episodes. In spite of not being critical darlings anymore when they ended their mediocre two-year run at Netflix this year, I still want to see more episodes.

With all being said, I am not sure about the show Westworld. Are two brilliant seasons and a very amazing trailer for the next season enough?

Tune in tomorrow morning for the #emmys2019 awards round-up and be sure to check the shows this fall. Most of the above-mentioned shows are starting their new season this week. Until next time bye-bye.