#ww text

we talk a lot about why streaming is killing television, but i think one factor that is under-discussed is syndication. there have been some good short-run series, but the majority of our most beloved series had long runs. like, 5+ season runs. runs that hit that sweet 100 episode mark, meaning they qualified for the most lucrative syndication deals. streaming shows are reducing and eliminating the need for such deals because they’re so siloed. instead of making a syndication deal with another station (and paying your creatives fair residuals), streaming services host their shows on their own platforms and instead pay the streaming rights residuals that are nowhere near as fair.

because these streaming networks (both streaming-only, like netflix, and core networks with original content streaming, like cbs and nbc) aren’t selling their shows off-platform, they don’t need to hit any kind of episode landmark to be cost-saving. you can host a show in any increment, so having a 20-episode series is the same as having a 60-episode series. except the 60-episode series, of course, takes longer and costs more to produce. as long as a network makes one season of a show, they get to market it for new viewers. and once they feel they’ve gotten all the new subscribers they will out of a series, they drop it to save money.

what if you finally caught that girl and wiped her memory and turned her into a tool for that organization - which, of course, is you doing her a service because she is just as hungry as you are to do good in the world and she just doesn't understand that that is exactly what you are offering her.

what if, despite all odds, she started to grow right back into herself, into your enemy, into your undoing. what if you decided to let it happen. what if you were so intrigued by her that you couldn't stop yourself from seeing who she could become.

what if, by letting your enemy flourish, she became your salvation. the one true good thing you put out into the world since you made yourself into a monster to try and help mankind.

what if you broke her by making her into a hero. what if she lost everything. what if you stripped an idealist of her ability to dream of a better world.