Although Netflix started out releasing MCU shows, Disney+ is now the home of Marvel streaming content - but it is already repeating one of Netflix's biggest problems. The MCU has been mostly met with critical acclaim, and the various television series are no exception. However, the same problem that killed Netflix's Defenders-verse is starting to be seen in the MCU catalog of Disney+, and it must be fixed in order to save the franchise.
With the release of Daredevil season 1 in 2015, Netflix kicked off its section of the MCU nicknamed the Defenders-verse. Netflix released shows like Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and several others, all of which are connected to the MCU. The earlier seasons culminated in The Defenders, a team-up series that featured all of Netflix's Marvel heroes. Although the shows continued after The Defenders, they were all sadly canceled before any of them got a proper resolution, with only a handful of Defenders characters appearing in the wider MCU.
Nearly every season of each Netflix MCU show is 13 episodes, which led to some problems. Since each episode was around 45 minutes to an hour, every season of every show had to fill a very similar 13-hour run. Because of this length, some Defenders shows like The Punisher and Iron Fist severely dragged in the middle, with some episodes feeling like nothing more than filler. Although all of these shows had potential, forcing them to all fit the same episode count hurt many of them. Although it started out with promise, the Disney+ Marvel shows are now facing the exact same problem. While there are some deviations, most of these shows are forced to fit into six-episode seasons, creating a problem that is distinct from, yet connected to Netflix's original flaw: the Disney+ shows all feel rushed.
A majority of Disney+ Marvel shows are required to be "six-episode events," which is only making the problem Netflix faced worse. Much like the Defenders shows, Disney+ shows are forced to fit into the same episode order, and due to their lack of time, all feel rushed. These short episode orders cause shows like Hawkeye to leave questions unanswered, as the show simply didn't have time to tell the story it wanted to tell. On top of the pacing, the shows also all seem to follow the same beats. Since these series are in the same genre, their similar episode counts force them to follow a similar format, making the shows all feel the same. Netflix also faced this problem, and its failure to address the issue is one of the things that lead to declining viewership. Disney+ wants to create consistency by making every series a six-episode event, and the MCU shows are worse for it.
The Defenders-verse started out strong, but its lengthy episode counts made the shows lose steam. Sadly, instead of letting creatives tell their stories with differing episode counts, Disney+ is repeating the same Netflix problem. Although Disney+ felt like a fresh start for the TV show side of the MCU, it is now falling into the same trap that killed the Netflix series.
