The world is falling out of love with Netflix – and I think I know why. The binge era might be coming to an end.

For years, a streamer’s main concern was getting people to start watching. But now, Netflix has a new problem: keeping them engaged beyond the first season. Recent studies suggest viewers are increasingly abandoning Netflix shows after just one season. As reported by Bloomberg, Netflix's biggest hits are losing more than half of their audience in that time.

The prevalent theory is that the length between seasons has become absurd. Just look at the final seasons of Stranger Things or Sex Education – those kids look like they’re pushing thirty, and suddenly their presence in school looks like a safeguarding issue. Plus, if you’ve forgotten most of the plot details during all those fallow years, are you going to tune in again? No wonder the ‘Previously’ montages are almost feature-length these days.

But I'm not buying this theory. After all, unlike the iPhone, television has never relied on annual releases to stay relevant. Mad Men disappeared for long stretches. Severance kept fans waiting three years for a second season that blew away the first. Great TV has often survived long gaps because it leaves a mark.

Netflix has spent the last decade perfecting a very specific type of television – episodes move fast, exposition is everywhere, cliffhangers are constant and the next episode starts before you've decided whether you want to watch it. It's an incredibly effective formula if the goal is keeping viewers on the platform for another hour. But perhaps less effective if the goal is creating something people still think about weeks later.