by Mychal ThompsonBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffAs a junior staff writer for the Pop Culture & Celebrity News team, I write about all things pop culture, whether celebs, movies, TV, music, politics, or trending topics.If you must know, I based my entire personality on Seasons 2-5 of "Girls," and I'm a huge gamer.

You know Sterling K. Brown — he's the star of Hulu's post-apocalyptic series, Paradise.

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In a recent Instagram comment, the three-time Emmy Award winner who acted in series like This Is Us andThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, explained why certain TV shows, whether cable or streaming, have fewer episodes.

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Season 2 of Paradise, which premiered on February 23, 2026, had only eight episodes, like the previous season. When Hulu announced the season finale would air on March 30, only a few weeks after the premiere, fans were quick to express their frustrations — craving longer seasons.

Anne Marie Fox / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

"I miss 20 episode seasons," one person wrote. Another said, "It needs to be 10 episodes at least."

@paradiseonhulu / Via instagram.com

Another person, "Ugh… 8 episodes are so short… it's too difficult to see the word 'finale' knowing that we are already HALFWAY THROUGH season 2 & we've only just begun!! 😫😫😫😫 I'll take what I can get though, it's just so good!!!!!"

@paradiseonhulu / Via instagram.com

"Cable and streamers don't make money on more episodes, but network does," Sterling explained. "Network is all about advertisers. The more shows you have, the more ads you can run, the more money you make."

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"Premium cable and streamers make their money off subscribers," he continued. "So it's not about how many shows do you have. It's about how many new shows do you have that make people wanna subscribe to your platform."

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Currently, premium streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount+, Hulu, Peacock, and ESPN+ are leading the charge in subscribers and revenue. But that's just a fraction of the streaming services available, and the exclusive content and original programming available on each service.

Brian Roedel / ©Hulu/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

For perspective, all four seasons of Netflix's Bridgerton consisted of eight episodes each, with the third and fourth being split into two parts. The first season of HBO's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was only six episodes. Apple TV's post-apocalyptic series was only nine episodes.

Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

"So if they did more episodes, they don't necessary get new subscribers," Sterling added. "But if they come with something that's new and shiny that's makes people say 'ooooo I wanna see that," then they're building their subscriber base. The only thing that could change it is if fans actually stop subscribing and mandate that these platforms make longer seasons, but I don't think that's gonna happen."

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Sterling's IG comment has since gone viral, sparking a debate over whether people agree with TV series consisting of only 8-10 episodes.

Over on Reddit, one person wrote, "I don't mind shorter seasons, but I do mind 2-3 year waits between seasons."

This redditor shared an opposing take, writing, "13 used to be the bare minimum. 8 is ridiculous for plot and character development." Another added, "I miss the years of 24 per season."

In response, this person wrote, "I worry that people have lost appreciation for when TV shows just mess around for a bit. Filler can be fun as hell and that means it's honestly important as hell. Because those moments when characters fuck around can be so great for making an audience fall in love with them. And if you've got a really short 13 episode comedy then it's gonna have way too much plot focus. This one isn't a TV show, but it always stuck with me how the most important scene in Avengers Age of Ultron is the scene where the Avengers are just hanging out and talking shit at Tony's apartment for like 15 minutes."

Another redditor from the UK added another perspective, writing, "It's kinda funny to me as a Brit seeing the chat about super long seasons when our standard is like 6 episodes and you're lucky if you get 8 😭 10 episodes is a treat to me lol."

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And finally, this person said, "For dramas, I prefer shorter seasons, honestly. There's a lot less filler in a season of 8 episodes than there is in a season of 22. For sitcoms, I always find myself wanting more when it's a short season. I think the max amount of episodes Always Sunny has had in a season was 14 and the most recent series a

Sterling K. Brown On Why Shows Have Fewer Episodes Now