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<v Speaker 1>This is Rob Long with Martini Shop for The Ankler.

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<v Speaker 1>When you record these things, you have a choice. You

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<v Speaker 1>can try to get studio-quality sound, that NPR feeling, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>where everything sounds like it's being recorded in an airless,

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<v Speaker 1>padded room. And that's sort of fitting for a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of what happens over at NPR, don't you think? Airless

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<v Speaker 1>and padded. Or you can just, you know, set it

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<v Speaker 1>up wherever you are. Let the place be the place,

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<v Speaker 1>which is what I'm doing right now. I'm coming to

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<v Speaker 1>you from an extended summer wander. And right now I'm

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<v Speaker 1>in Tbilisi, Georgia, the country, not the state. And I'm

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<v Speaker 1>sitting outside a hip co-working space, which seemed to be

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<v Speaker 1>everywhere now, nestled in a hip hotel called Stamba, surrounded

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<v Speaker 1>by young, cool people who are drinking wine and beer

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<v Speaker 1>in the summer night. And I'm feeling age-inappropriate as usual,

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<v Speaker 1>but then that's sort of my life now. And especially here,

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<v Speaker 1>in a place I was in 26 years ago, during

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<v Speaker 1>another extended wander through Central Asia, heading west to Istanbul

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<v Speaker 1>back then, And 26 years ago, this place was very different.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, this place wasn't even here. But Tbilisi in general, Georgia,

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<v Speaker 1>in fact, was not quite as prosperous as it is now,

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<v Speaker 1>not quite as hip and happening. I mean, now there

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<v Speaker 1>are crypto ATMs everywhere. But there's also Vladimir Putin, and

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<v Speaker 1>he and the current government of Georgia are a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more aligned than they were 26 years ago, when Putin

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<v Speaker 1>had just taken power in Russia, and the mood in

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<v Speaker 1>Tbilisi was broke, but hopeful. A lot of things can

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<v Speaker 1>happen that you don't predict. That's the lesson here. And

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<v Speaker 1>another lesson is sometimes what looks like progress brings another

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<v Speaker 1>kind of trouble. What feels like freedom can end up

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<v Speaker 1>in a picture, shaking hands with Vladimir Putin. Progress brings

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<v Speaker 1>trouble is one way of understanding show business, too. Streaming

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<v Speaker 1>has brought a huge amount of change and opportunity. It

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<v Speaker 1>all feels a little bleak right now, but not too

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<v Speaker 1>long ago, those services were buying everything. And if you

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<v Speaker 1>threw a rock in the Brentwood Country Mart, you would

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<v Speaker 1>hit a writer with a project at Netflix or Hulu

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<v Speaker 1>or something like that. And that was in the early

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<v Speaker 1>Tbilisi era, all hope and possibility. We're now in the, well,

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<v Speaker 1>we're in the Vladimir Putin era, especially this week, when

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix revealed that viewers just don't stick around to watch

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<v Speaker 1>the second season of many of their shows. Viewers, in

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<v Speaker 1>other words, are drifting away, which makes sense because a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of those shows are, you know, they're boring. Okay, well,

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<v Speaker 1>not boring, but they are, let's say, unduly taxing on

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<v Speaker 1>the audience. And look, streaming was supposed to bring more

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<v Speaker 1>freedom and flexibility to storytelling, but often giving a storyteller

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<v Speaker 1>freedom and flexibility... is the worst possible choice, because it's

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<v Speaker 1>a very rare, maybe non-existent, show business storyteller, and let's

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<v Speaker 1>be blunt, we're talking about writers and showrunners here, who

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<v Speaker 1>take freedom and flexibility and use those to make the

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<v Speaker 1>shows shorter, to make the episodes more sprightly, who gets

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<v Speaker 1>down to business more quickly and briskly and keeps the

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<v Speaker 1>pace up. Mostly, freedom and and flexibility just make things

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<v Speaker 1>longer and slower. So by the time the first season

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<v Speaker 1>is done, which is maybe eight episodes in total, the

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<v Speaker 1>audience is way too bored to wait another year or

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<v Speaker 1>more sometimes for the next batch to arrive. And of course,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't really notice that if you're making the show

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<v Speaker 1>or paying for it, because, you know, you never do.

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<v Speaker 1>People in show business are predisposed to like the thing

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<v Speaker 1>they're spending years of their lives and millions and millions

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<v Speaker 1>of dollars on. Audiences, unfortunately, are not pre-sold. Audiences need

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<v Speaker 1>to be post-sold. Post the money and the time and

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<v Speaker 1>the anxiety that starts right after you watch that first

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<v Speaker 1>assembly and wonder what on earth anyone was thinking giving

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<v Speaker 1>this thing a green light. That's sort of, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>show business, right? You take some risks, you see what sticks.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what was supposed to happen, actually. The algorithm is

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<v Speaker 1>supposed to make you brave. That's the whole promise of it.

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<v Speaker 1>Collect enough information about what people want and you can

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<v Speaker 1>finally stop guessing and you can swing for the fence

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<v Speaker 1>and But somehow it works the other way. The more

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix knows, the more careful it gets. It's the opposite

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<v Speaker 1>of confidence. So here's my note to the executives, free

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<v Speaker 1>of charge, since they wouldn't pay me anyway. Stop sorting

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<v Speaker 1>the data and just start making shows. Order full seasons,

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<v Speaker 1>22 episodes, the old-fashioned number, and order the next batch

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<v Speaker 1>before anyone's had time to forget the first one. Make

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<v Speaker 1>more of them episodic, not serialized, because nobody is signing

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<v Speaker 1>up for a relationship with your show. They want to

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<v Speaker 1>walk in on a Thursday... and leave satisfied by Thursday.

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<v Speaker 1>Not audition for a six-year engagement, which you're not going

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<v Speaker 1>to get anyway, no matter what the data tell you.

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<v Speaker 1>And once in a while, do a multicam in front

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<v Speaker 1>of a studio audience. I know, I know, that's self-serving.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what I used to do. But I'm in divinity

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<v Speaker 1>school now. How likely is it that they'll buy a

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<v Speaker 1>pitch from me? But what I mean is, you will

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<v Speaker 1>never wonder if that live audience is bored because you

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<v Speaker 1>can hear them. You can hear the silence. There's no

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<v Speaker 1>algorithm for that. Just 400 people in bleacher seats letting

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<v Speaker 1>you know by their shuffling and their scuffling and their

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<v Speaker 1>chatter in real time exactly how much trouble you are in.

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<v Speaker 1>And that's the whole business, really. Less certainty, more nerve.

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<v Speaker 1>Which I've also discovered is not bad advice for a

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<v Speaker 1>gentleman of a certain age sitting outside a co-working space

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<v Speaker 1>in Tbilisi wondering if he still has anything else to say.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, of course I do. We all do, I'm sure.

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<v Speaker 1>The problem I've learned this week is whether you have

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<v Speaker 1>something to say and whether you can say it in

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<v Speaker 1>under 21 seconds. I've been traveling with my godson, Jackson,

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<v Speaker 1>who has appointed himself my social media producer, which mostly

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<v Speaker 1>involves filming me ranting about vaping or those Get Ready

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<v Speaker 1>With Me videos you see all over social media, and

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<v Speaker 1>then putting the footage up on Instagram Reels and showing me,

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<v Speaker 1>with real scientific detachment, exactly when people leave. When exactly

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<v Speaker 1>they are done with my content. With me, in other words.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a little chart you can look at. This many

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<v Speaker 1>gone by 21 seconds, this many gone by 40. An

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<v Speaker 1>alarming number gone by one second, which I choose to

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<v Speaker 1>believe is a technical glitch and not a verdict. Jackson

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<v Speaker 1>is ruthless about this. He cuts and trims and tightens

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<v Speaker 1>his own stuff. With none of the sentimental attachment I

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<v Speaker 1>have to my sentences. And watching him work, I have realized...

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<v Speaker 1>that I've turned into exactly the kind of showrunner I

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<v Speaker 1>was just finishing lecturing Netflix about. The kind who thinks

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<v Speaker 1>he needs eight hours for his story to breathe when

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<v Speaker 1>the actual audience, the one with the thumb, or in

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<v Speaker 1>this case the scrolling finger, has already left the building.

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<v Speaker 1>I've got a good 30 years on Jackson, and he's

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<v Speaker 1>the one teaching me the note I gave the executives

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<v Speaker 1>20 seconds ago. Less certainty, more nerve. Say it, then

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<v Speaker 1>stop talking. He's merciless about the metrics on his own posts,

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<v Speaker 1>of course. You can find him at JacksonGreatHouseFall, all one word,

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<v Speaker 1>and me at RCBL. Between the two of us, we've

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<v Speaker 1>got maybe, I don't know, 16,000 followers. That's 14 for him,

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<v Speaker 1>2 for me. And roughly the collective self-restraint of a

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<v Speaker 1>Netflix drama in its third season. Mostly that's his, not mine.

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<v Speaker 1>But we are working on it. Well, I am working

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<v Speaker 1>on it. I mean, look, 20 seconds is way too

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<v Speaker 1>short to tell a good story, but a season of

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<v Speaker 1>eight episodes when nothing happens? Well, that's way too long.

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<v Speaker 1>Somewhere in the middle, I guess, is the right number.

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<v Speaker 1>And the collected wisdom of a century of show business

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<v Speaker 1>has pretty much identified that number at about an hour

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<v Speaker 1>for a drama with a lot of cliffhanger act breaks

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<v Speaker 1>and about half an hour for comedy with laughs in

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<v Speaker 1>there from the audience. Make 22 of them to keep

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<v Speaker 1>the audience hooked. But this was all the way things

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<v Speaker 1>used to be before all that. progress. And that's it

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<v Speaker 1>for this week. Next week, what are you watching? For

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<v Speaker 1>The Ankler, this is Rob Long with Martini Shot.