“Spider-Noir” Binge Watch Release Stirs Talk

Following yesterday’s trailer release, Amazon Prime Video has confirmed that its upcoming “Spider-Noir” series will debut on May 27th with all eight episodes available at once.

As previously reported, the Nicolas Cage-led live-action period drama from Sony Pictures Television will also be available to stream in two ways: in “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color” for audiences to choose their own adventure to watch.

The choice for a binge-watch approach rather than a weekly release of episodes has sparked debate on social media, with people (and bots) taking sides and arguing about the merits and drawbacks of each approach.

For the weekly episode supporters, the argument is that it generates more conversation and anticipation around a show, that everybody is ‘in sync’ when it comes to watching a series, and that it keeps a show in the cultural conversation longer.

For the binge supporters, it’s about flexibility, stronger narrative immersion (especially for serialised shows), better pacing, and keeping discussion to a more concentrated window – along with lessening the risk of an audience ‘turning’ on a show as early narrative choices are questioned without all the facts (ie. explanations/justifications later in the season).

Both sides argue that the other side can still watch weekly or all at once if they like, and both sides counter those arguments by saying that either approach inevitably leads to spoilers for the audience in different ways.

What is known is that the binge-watching approach for a new show is surprisingly routine for Amazon Prime Video. “The Boys,” “Fallout”, “Reacher,” “The Terminal List,” “Cross,” “We Were Liars” and “The Summer I Turned Pretty” all were binge-watch releases in their first season, before subsequent seasons adopted the Batch+Weekly approach of a two or three-episode premiere followed by weekly episodes.

Others like “Bosch,” “Mr. & Mr. Smith,” “Ballard,” “Hunters,” “Batman: Caped Crusader,” “Homecoming” and “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” (aside from its final season) released all their seasons as full binges. On the other hand, “Citadel,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “Gen V,” “Invincible” and “The Wheel of Time” went with a Batch+Weekly approach from the start.

Almost all their upcoming shows, including “56 Days,” “The Gray House,” “Young Sherlock”, and “Scarpetta”, are adopting the ‘all episodes at once’ approach when they launch.

Interestingly, “Spider-Noir” will launch with what appears to be both approaches – the series screening weekly on the MGM+ network from May 25th and releasing globally all at once on Prime Video on May 27th.