Hey Cable TV, Why Such a Long Wait?

With last week’s announcement by Starz of the return date for the back half of the first season of the now acclaimed drama Outlander and the ensuing negative reaction by fans, I felt it was important to focus a piece about why cable networks choose to have such long breaks between their seasons.

While fans may think the networks are taking them for granted, this type of practice is actually quite typical for the networks. After all, the major networks usually have a four-month break between the end of one season and the beginning of the next season, giving viewers a break over the long summer. The same can be said for cable networks, who schedule their season breaks anywhere between just a few weeks or up to five, even, six months.

That is the current case with Outlander. The mid-season finale of the series, which is based on the international best-selling novel by Diana Gabaldon, will air this Saturday, September 27; and since it is a mid-season finale the episode will be intense, it will have lots of action and it will have a cliffhanger ending (yes, I have seen the episode and it is that GOOD!).

Now here is the problem that the fans have: the show won’t be back for the last eight episodes of its debut season until April 4, 2015. How can the network delay the return of the show for so long? Why would they make the fans wait all that time? I am sure many fans are feeling dejected, angry, upset – hell! – even pissed about the lengthy wait, but the network is not doing this to upset the viewers.

Sure, the network – being a subscription network – wants to make money from their subscribers by keeping them around; and the powers that be at the network are, most likely, hopeful that many subscribers will simply stick around until that April date so they can watch the remainder of the Outlander episodes. Sadly, many of the subscribers won’t, but hopefully they will come back to the network when that date finally draws closer.

But, the main point that viewers and fans of Outlander – and nearly every other cable show currently on the air – should understand is this type of lengthy break is not uncommon. Outlander, nor its fans, is being singled out.

The following are just a few examples of the lengthy breaks that cable networks schedule for their shows, whether it is a mid-season break or the gap between one season and the next season:

Hallmark Channel – The network debuted their new series When Calls the Heart back on January 11 of this year, airing all 12 episodes of the debut season straight through to March 29. Fans of that show, however, had to wait until May to learn whether the series was even getting a second season. But once that announcement was made, the fans learned they will have to wait until May of 2015 for the second season to air.

USA Network – Suits has been on the air for four seasons now with the fifth season set to air next year. The show’s first season ended in September of 2011 with the second season not starting until June of 2012 while the current fourth season just ended on August 20 of this year with the fifth season scheduled to return sometime next summer.

Syfy – The new sci-fi series Defiance debuted in 2013 running 12 episodes from April 13 through July 8. The second season of the series had 13 episodes, but did not return until June 19 of this year.

ABC Family – The debut season of The Fosters consisted of 21 episodes with the first episode airing on June 3, 2013. The first 10 episodes aired through August 5 but the show didn’t return for the remainder of its freshman year until January 13, 2014.

TNT – The remake of Dallas debuted back on June 13, 2012 running its 10 episode freshman season through August 8. The second season of the series did not air until January 28, 2013, running 15 episodes though April 15, 2013. The current third season premiered on February 24, 2014 and ended on September 22.

AMC – Every single season of this long-running period piece drama Mad Men has had a long gap between seasons. The series debuted on July 19, 2007 running for 13 episodes through October 18, 2007. The second season did not return until July 27, 2008 running through October 26, 2008. The third season returned on August 16, 2009 and ended on November 8, 2009. The fourth season of the show aired from July 25, 2010 through October 17, 2010; but there was a large gap – nearly 1 ½ years – between the previous season and the fifth season with the show returning on March 25, 2012. That season ended on June 10, 2012 with the sixth season not coming back until April 7, 2013. The sixth season ended on June 23, 2013 with the seventh season not coming back until April 13, 2014. The first half of the current seventh season concluded on May 25, 2014 with the remainder of the seventh season not scheduled to return until sometime next spring.

Needless to say, there are gaps – even lengthy ones – for many, if not all, cable dramas not just Outlander; and while I agree wholeheartedly with the fans who are upset about the well over 6 month gap for the show’s first season, this is just standard practices for cable as well as major networks. The break for Outlander’s first season is not a slight against the viewers or the fans and I certainly hope that the fans will take time during the break to enjoy watching and re-watching the eight episodes that will have aired by this weekend and even go a little old school by reading (or re-reading) the book on which the series is based.

Outlander fans: Please enjoy the mid-season finale, as it is really good and you’ll love it – even with the cliffhanger ending – and enjoy the break by rejoicing in the fact that the show will return on April 4, 2015 AND it will have a second season based on the second book in the hugely popular franchise.