Designated Survivor season 3 and the merits of a shorter run

Odds are, you have heard the news already that Designated Survivor will have a shorter run on Netflix than it did on ABC. By what degree? Think along the lines of ten episodes. On paper, this wouldn’t necessarily look like a good thing; yet, the more you think about it, and the more that it starts to become clear that there are some positive benefits to the Kiefer Sutherland series having a smaller overall run than it has in the past.

Related Designated Survivor video! – Be sure to check out some more thoughts regarding the series heading to Netflix at the bottom of this article. Meanwhile, remember that you can subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for some additional updates.

One of the biggest benefits to the ten-episode run is simply this: Continuity, and allowing the show to tell something that feels more like a consistent narrative. One storyline is going to bleed a little bit more into the next and because of that, we’re going to see an end product that feels tighter and maybe even meatier. Often with 22-episodes seasons, it is easy for things to get over-wrought or a little more complicated than they really need to be. This isn’t exactly going to happen here.

To go along with this, doing ten episodes also helps the show when it comes to accessibility. We’re not exactly in an era at the moment where the average TV viewer has a heck of a lot of time. Everyone has shows piling on their DVR or Netflix, and they have to find a way in which to get through many of them. There are a lot of people who may just look at the 22 episodes for season 3 and just turn away, thinking that they won’t be able to keep up with it.

Do we understand that there is an obvious downside in that 10 episodes is significantly less than 22? Absolutely, but we do also think that it’s possible this is the sort of thing that eventually gets the series a season 4 or even a season 5. If the quality of the ten-episode season 3 is such that it makes Netflix have even more faith in the show in the long run, that is absolutely a great thing.

The problem right now is simply going to be dealing with the wait, given that Designated Survivor is not going to be premiering on ABC until we come around to some point in 2019. Given that production is still underway on it, the safe assumption to make is that you’ll see it around the late spring or the summer, at the earliest.

Related – Check out more discussion about the show’s long-term future

Do you think that there are some benefits when it comes to Designated Survivor season 3 having a shorter run of episodes? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments. (Photo: ABC.)