Analyzing the top 20 highest-rated series each year on IMDb (2000-2024). How streaming transformed the TV series format.
In 2000, a TV season averaged 15.2 episodes. By 2024, that number had dropped to 9.9 episodes. This shift accelerated with the rise of streaming platforms, which favor shorter, more focused seasons. Viewers, overwhelmed by choice and short on time, seem to embrace this format too: the highest-rated series are increasingly shorter.
Behind the trend, each dot represents one season of one series. You can see the "cloud" compressing downward over the years: where the 2000s mixed seasons of 6 to 24 episodes, the 2020s cluster mostly between 4 and 10. Hover over a dot to highlight series within the same rating bracket, or use the search bar to find a specific series.
Fewer episodes, but longer ones? The runtime distribution reveals a clear shift: the 22-minute sitcom format, king of the 2000s, is gradually losing ground to 45-to-60-minute drama formats. Recent series compensate for fewer episodes with denser, longer installments.