Hulu isn’t ready to abandon weekly release schedules just yet

One of the best things about streaming services like Hulu and Netflix is that they allow users to binge-watch their favorite shows, but Hulu isn’t ready to give up on the traditional weekly schedule just yet. The company’s new original series will, contrary to Netflix’s policy of releasing every episode within a season at once, follow in the footsteps of traditional television and release individual episodes every week. 

Hulu content chief Craig Erwich announced this morning the streaming service will release episodes of its new original series on a weekly basis, rather than all at once for binge-watchers. “We want to give viewers the opportunity to discover their shows every week,” he told reporters at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour. “We value the shared experience and the joy of the water-cooler that is television,” he said, adding that this play pattern has the advantage of allowing Hulu to get series out to viewers faster without having to wait until all episodes are complete. Once all episodes of series have been made available, they will then remain so in their entirety for binge-viewing aficionados. Shortly after his remarks, Liz Tigelaar, EP for Hulu’s new Casual, confessed she preferred the play pattern, likening binge watching to binge eating. Viewers can’t “process” the content properly when they’re bingeing, she said, and also don’t get to enjoy the water-cooler conversation.