The Binge-Watch and the Future of TV

The cast of Arrested Development, out on the promotion trial for Season 4.

Recently, Netflix released the much-anticipated fourth season of Arrested Development, the de-funct (de-funke-d?) and critically acclaimed ex-cable sitcom. 
Like other Netflix series, the entire season debuted all-at-once rather than the traditional, week-to-week format, leaving viewers like me free to choose exactly how to watch a show that interests me. My method of choice, of course, was the binge-watch. Soon, I was shamefully finished devouring all 15 new episodes in only a few days.
Binge-watching - watching a ton of TV series episodes in short period of time - has become a more and more common way to consume television, especially for those who spend a lot of time on the internet (no shame if you're reading high quality stuff like this blog!). Sites like Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and Xfinity Streampix (and countless, not-as-legal others I'm sure you can think of) offer a great method to "catch-up" on shows of recent interest after a few missed weeks, "re-watch" seasons and seasons of an old favorite (like The Office, for me), or "discover" critically-acclaimed or overlooked programs of old (like The Wire - do this if you haven't!). And, of course, the best part about binge-watching is that it is on your own schedule - whatever time of day or night, you can binge-watch whatever you want to, rather than wait for TV marathons to air on a particular channel on a particular day. More freedom for more TV? I can't think of anything more American.
Interestingly enough, with this new all-at-once release strategy that Netflix has started, binge-watching may soon usurp waiting week-to-week as the main way in which we watch television. In fact, after watching 15 episodes of Arrested Development over the course of 3 days, I would argue that some shows are actually even better when watched on a binge. Season 4 of Arrested Development is essentially a running joke that continues to build on itself - and that joke is much funnier (and maybe makes more sense) when binge-watched, truly making the series a no-brainer for Netflix to pick up and promote through their binge-friendly medium. In fact, I've even found that certain programs airing weekly, such as HBO's expansive and complicated Game of Thrones, tend to be more enjoyable when enjoyed in 3 or 4 episode binges, rather than rationed out at once-a-week pace. The binge-watch allows the casual viewer to stay invested in deeper stories being portrayed on television (or computer): they are immersed for hours in fictional worlds and, as a result, privy to subtleties that would otherwise be overlooked on a week-to-week basis.
Binge-watching is also a self-sustaining cycle - once one binge takes place and gets a viewer a few episodes deep into a series, they are much likely to come back for more soon after and finish the story rather than lose interest over weeks of waiting for more. Netflix seems to recognize this advantage and has since capitalized on it with shows like House of Cards and Arrested Development designed to incorporate the benefits of binge-watch. But who will join them and, more importantly, how? Only time will tell, but my guess is that we will be seeing a few more exciting series releases with the binge-watch in mind from both Netflix and other outlets as we move towards the future - and I can't wait to grab a snack and few empty hours to enjoy them all.