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It’s been a two-year wait for HBO’s upcoming third season Dragon House. Season 2 on Apple TV+ to cut It was a three-year wait, as was the case with the final season of the Netflix hit Strange things.
At this point, waiting years for a new season is not at all unusual.
According to a new study by Ampere Analysis, the average wait between seasons of TV shows on major streaming platforms has reached what is almost certainly an all-time high.
The gap has gradually doubled over the past decade – from an average of 10 months in 2016 to 16 months in 2021 to 21 months in 2024 and 2025, the study suggests. Before 2016, shows taking less than a year to return were the norm in the industry.
However, just because a show is taking so long to return doesn’t necessarily diminish interest. In fact, series that took more than 30 months between seasons (such as the Netflix series). Wednesday) Achieved the highest viewer participation rate.
Unsurprisingly, sci-fi and fantasy titles that require a significant amount of visual effects are the shows with the longest wait times. Since HBO game of thronesstreamers have invested heavily in cinematic event shows that can cut through the clutter amid an average of 600 scripted shows a year. Such shows tend to require a longer production schedule (so far Thronesas many forget, managed to regularly produce a new season annually until its seventh and final season, which took two years).
Such gaps come with some risks — 54 percent of study participants said they would be likely to cancel a service subscription due to long wait times for engaging content.
“Many original shows build highly committed audiences and remain loyal despite increasingly long waits between seasons,” said Kristin Tamiesen, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis. “However, streamers need to balance the schedules of blockbuster productions with a constant flow of content. Extended gaps may generate anticipation around headline titles, but can also encourage audiences to cancel subscriptions and return only when major shows return to the screen.”
This risk is likely to be higher when courting younger viewers. Recently, another study conducted by Dentsu and IGN Entertainment showed that more than half of Gen Z users said they would cancel and renew streaming services to “chase one title” rather than just buy and keep a subscription service. “Platform loyalty is virtually dead,” the study claimed.
