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Why Are TV Shows So Short? Sterling K. Brown Explains Trends

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You recognize Sterling K. Brown—he is the powerhouse lead of Hulu’s hit post-apocalyptic drama, Paradise.

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Handout / The Academy via Getty Images

In a candid Instagram interaction, the three-time Emmy winner, known for his iconic roles in This Is Us and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, broke down the financial logic behind why cable and streaming series have pivoted toward shorter seasons.

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Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images

Season 2 of Paradise, which launched on Feb. 23, 2026, consisted of just eight episodes, mirroring its debut season. When Hulu announced the season finale would drop on March 30—barely a month after the premiere—fans flooded social media to vent their frustrations over the lightning-fast rollout.

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Anne Marie Fox / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

“I miss 20-episode seasons,” one viewer lamented. Another echoed the sentiment, stating, “It needs to be 10 episodes at LEAST.”

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@paradiseonhulu / Via instagram.com

A third fan expressed the emotional whiplash of modern TV: “Ugh… 8 episodes are so short… it’s too difficult to see the word ‘finale’ knowing that we are already HALFWAY THROUGH season 2 & we’ve only just begun!! 😫😫😫😫 I’ll take what I can get though, it’s just so good!!!!!”

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@paradiseonhulu / Via instagram.com

“Cable and streamers don’t make money on more episodes, but network does,” Sterling clarified to his followers. “Network is all about advertisers. The more shows you have, the more ads you can run, the more money you make.”

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Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

“Premium cable and streamers make their money off subscribers,” he elaborated. “So it’s not about how many shows do you have. It’s about how many new shows do you have that make people wanna subscribe to your platform.”

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Brianna Bryson/GA / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

Currently, premium streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount+, Hulu, Peacock, and ESPN+ are dominating the market in terms of revenue and reach. However, these giants represent only a portion of the available platforms, each battling for attention through exclusive content and original programming.

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Brian Roedel / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

To put this trend into perspective, every season of Netflix’s Bridgerton has stuck to an eight-episode limit, even when splitting seasons into two parts. Similarly, the HBO debut of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms arrived with only six episodes, while the Apple TV+ sci-fi series Pluribus wrapped its run in just nine.

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Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

“So if they did more episodes, they don’t necessarily get new subscribers,” Sterling added. “But if they come with something that’s new and shiny that makes people say ‘ooooo I wanna see that,’ then they’re building their subscriber base. The only thing that could change it is if fans actually stop subscribing and mandate that these platforms make longer seasons, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

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Leon Bennett / Getty Images for NAACP

Sterling’s deep dive into the business of Hollywood has since gone viral, igniting a massive online debate about the quality of short-form storytelling. On Reddit, one user noted, “I don’t mind shorter seasons, but I do mind 2-3 year waits between seasons.”

Gilles Mingasson / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

Another Redditor disagreed with the shift, writing, “13 used to be the bare minimum. 8 is ridiculous for plot and character development.” A nostalgic fan chimed in, “I miss the years of 24 per season.”

Anne Marie Fox / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

Challenging the “all killer, no filler” mentality, one user argued: “I worry that people have lost appreciation for when TV shows just mess around for a bit. Filler can be fun as hell and that means it’s honestly important as hell. Because those moments when characters f*** around can be so great for making an audience fall in love with them. And if you’ve got a really short 13 episode comedy then it’s gonna have way too much plot focus. This one isn’t a TV show, but it always stuck with me how the most important scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron is the scene where the Avengers are just hanging out and talking sh*t at Tony’s apartment for like 15 minutes.”

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Brian Roedel / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

A commenter from the UK offered a different cultural lens: “It’s kinda funny to me as a Brit seeing the chat about super long seasons when our standard is like 6 episodes and you’re lucky if you get 8 😭 10 episodes is a treat to me lol.”

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Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

Ultimately, the preference seems to depend on the genre. “For dramas, I prefer shorter seasons, honestly. There’s a lot less filler in a season of 8 episodes than there is in a season of 22,” one fan explained. “For sitcoms, I always find myself wanting more when it’s a short season. I think the max amount of episodes Always Sunny has had in a season was 14 and the most recent series are only 8. It feels really short, in a way that it doesn’t with a drama.”

Brian Roedel / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

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Barry Keoghan Denies Sabrina Carpenter Cheating Allegations

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Barry Keoghan is finally opening up about the viral cheating allegations involving Sabrina Carpenter following their high-profile breakup.

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Phillip Faraone / Getty Images for ABA

To get you up to speed: After news broke that Barry and Sabrina reportedly split in late 2024 after a year of dating, the internet was flooded with rumors that he had been unfaithful to the “Espresso” singer with influencer Breckie Hill. For her part, Breckie quickly shut down the cheating speculation on her own platforms.

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Dave Benett/VF24 / WireImage for Vanity Fair

Despite the denial, the wave of online negativity aimed at the Saltburn star was so intense that he eventually felt forced to delete his Instagram account and release a statement regarding the “hate” he was enduring during that period.

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While appearing on a recent episode of the Friends Keep Secrets podcast, Barry addressed those persistent cheating rumors directly. He shared a candid look at how the public narrative has fundamentally altered his life—and his perspective was truly heartbreaking.

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Steve Granitz / FilmMagic

“I came off Instagram and social profiles,” he confessed during the interview. “I’ve stopped going to events. I’ve stopped, you know, just, socializing. It’s because, you know, there was a narrative out there that was never really sort of even spoken on, a narrative that’s not true, and I never confirmed or said anything about it. And, you know, I just disappeared.”

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Robert Okine / Getty Images

Reflecting on the unique struggles of “having a relationship in the public eye,” Barry pointed toward the video where Breckie denied the rumors. “No one seemed to latch on to that video,” he noted, expressing frustration over how the public perception has shifted since the breakup.

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Araya Doheny / Getty Images for SAG-AFTRA Foundation

“I’m not asking for people to become my fan and like me because that’s not normal either,” he continued. “But I’m asking for people to stop assuming and also stop jumping on this narrative and attacking me and dragging me down in any way you can, involving my parents who are no longer with me… just absolutely disgusting and vile. There’s videos on TikTok literally going, ‘I hate him.'”

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Watch the entire interview here:

Friends Keep Secrets / Via youtube.com

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Billie Eilish Addresses Rumors of a Falling Out With Finneas

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Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas (frequently stylized as FINNEAS) have solidified their status as the most formidable songwriting team in modern pop. Together, they have secured multiple Grammys and Oscars, building an impressive catalog of global hits that continues to expand.

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Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

Recently, rumors began circulating that the iconic sibling duo might be experiencing some friction. While the whispers may have bypassed some, they certainly reached Billie. In a candid new interview with Elle, the “Birds of a Feather” singer addressed these falling out rumors directly to clear the air.

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Variety / Variety via Getty Images

“I heard somebody say, ‘Did you guys hear Finneas and Billie had a falling-out?’” Billie recounted during the interview. She followed up with a definitive statement regarding their bond: “Finneas and I have never and will never have a falling-out, ever in our lives.”

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Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for The Recording Academy

“We’ll get in the biggest fucking fight you’ve ever heard of in your life…and five minutes later, we’re back, laughing and making music,” she explained. “It’s sibling shit. There’s nothing else in the world like sibling relationships.” It is a sentiment many with siblings can certainly relate to.

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While discussing their dynamic, Billie also touched upon the daunting prospect of potentially not collaborating with Finneas one day. Her take on the future of their professional partnership was both refreshingly honest and surprisingly open-ended.

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Jeff Spicer / Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

“If I never saw Finneas at all, I might literally never make a song again,” she mused, before posing a deeper question about their personal growth: “But how do we move on and have separate lives?”

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Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

It is the classic dilemma that defines almost every legendary creative partnership. As fans ponder the future of their favorite musical duo, the full profile offers even more insight into Billie’s current world.

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Shannon Elizabeth OnlyFans Earnings: American Pie Star Wealth

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If you’re a millennial of a certain age, you know Shannon Elizabeth from a few things. Between the American Pie franchise, Tomcats, Scary Movie, and even a Jay and Silent Bob movie or two, she was arguably one of the queens of the “movies you watched at a sleepover party” subcategory.

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©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

Shannon’s acting career has remained fairly steady since then, but she recently took on a new role entirely: OnlyFans creator. She joined the service just a few weeks ago, telling People at the time that starting her own OnlyFans was because “I’ve spent my entire career working in Hollywood, where other people controlled the narrative and the outcome of my career. This new chapter is about changing that, showing off a more sexy side no one has seen, and being closer to my fans.”

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Kayla Oaddams / Getty Images

Well, just a few weeks later, People has a new report on how the OnlyFans foray is going for Shannon — and as it turns out, she’s seemingly struck content-creator gold in the process.

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©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

A source tells the publication that Shannon brought in “more than seven figures” on the first week she joined OnlyFans. Seven figures! Let that sink in.

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Tiffany Rose / Getty Images for GBK Brand Bar

The source adds that Shannon “is really making a name for herself” on her page, and they also note that there is no full nudity featured on it. “She is super happy she now gets to take control and be engaged with her fans,” the source adds.

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Shirlaine Forrest / WireImage

See, this is what Margo was thinking when she said she had money troubles…we’ve reached out to Shannon’s reps for further comment and will let you know if we hear anything back.

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