How a wave of binge viewing was sparked through ‘season dumping’.

Trailer Park Boys – (Netflix Originals) Season 8, Relaunch Poster

Mareike Jenner, describes binge viewing as “a practice where several episodes of a serialised programme are watched on a medium other than linear television”. (Jenner, 2018)

‘Trailer Park Boys’ is a Canadian ‘mockumentary’ series created by Mike Clattenburg. The programme is a continuation of his cult 1999 film that follows the misadventures of a group of trailer park residents in Canada.

The series relaunched in partnership with Netflix, successfully creating a space for both old fans, and a completely new audience to binge a colossal amount of content. By releasing the material in a non-linear format, the show can be experienced in an ‘all-you-can-eat’ manner that was previously impossible with traditional television. 

Instead of weekly episodes, Netflix subscribers are provided with “Season Dumps” of new content which encourages their viewers to rapidly consume multiple episodes, this accelerates the engagement they have with the show. Since the streaming platform purchased the franchise, it has released five new seasons, numerous specials, an animated series and a handful of feature films. 

“Not only has Netflix helped bring new TPB episodes and films to life, but the company…has brought the show to a wider audience and more eyes.” (Hanton, 2017)

Netflix revived the sitcom after the original ended in its 7th season. This generated renewed interest and excitement for the series. The release of the 7 original seasons all at once didn’t just provide nostalgic enjoyment for current fans, it also gave a way for first time viewers to watch from the beginning. This sparked a wave of interest in the show and built excitement for the new content they were to release. 

The revival of an already popular series through ‘season dumps’ and the rapid creation of new content in a broad range of audiovisual formats allowed Netflix to generate a wave of ‘Binge Viewing’ among their target audience and in turn produce massive profits for the company. 

Drew Cahane – 33607240

Bibliography: 

• Clattenburg, M., Tremblay, J.P., Wells, R. and Smith, M. (2004). Trailer Park Boys. [online] IMDb. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0290988/.
• Hanton, A. (2017). The Untold Truth Of Trailer Park Boys. [online] Looper.com. Available at: https://www.looper.com/33666/untold-truth-trailer-park-boys/.
• Jenner, M. (2018). Netflix and the Re-Invention of Television, Springer International Publishing AG, Cham. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [16 November 2022].
• Lotz, A.D. (2017). Theorizing the Nonlinear Distinction of Internet-Distributed Television. In: Portals: A Treatise on Internet-Distributed Television. [online] [Ann Arbor, Mich.]: Maize Books, an imprint of Michigan Publishing. Available at: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/maize/mpub9699689/.