Why Fire Country Release Schedule Has So Many Breaks?
It seems that the answer to this question is much more complicated than anticipated.
The CBS Channel series about prisoners who give back to their community by fighting huge forest fires was an instant sensation last year, as fans instantly fell in love with the motley crew of characters trying to turn their lives around.
Although the series quickly gained a huge audience and was renewed for a second season, fans are still concerned with one question – why are there so many breaks in the first season of Fire Country?
Fans have been extremely disappointed with the way CBS is releasing the series, as there are often two-week interruptions after each couple of episodes. It seems as if the channel is deliberately delaying the series and fans don't know why.
Here are two possible explanations:
Firstly, in the current era of peak television, with hundreds of new series premiering every year, it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict whether a show will be a success, so TV channels are playing it safe by ordering abridged seasons for their newcomer shows.
Fire Country seems to have suffered the same fate, and it was only after the first couple of episodes proved successful that the series was ordered for a full-length season. However, the time slots for the rest of the year were already taken up by other shows, and CBS found itself in a difficult position to schedule newly commissioned episodes of Fire Country.
Hence the delay.
Secondly, the TV channels have been putting shows on break for quite some time now, trying to entice as many people as possible to watch them.
If a show starts in the autumn, like Fire Country, it becomes increasingly important that the season runs until spring when the spring sweeps take place. Sweeps are a way for TV channels to gauge how many people are watching their show, and a great performance on them is really important to the success of the series.
Maintaining interest in the series is difficult if the season ends early, so CBS' decision to postpone some episodes of Fire Country in order for the show to air for six months is understandable.