With just one episode left ofStar Wars: Skeleton Crew, the show has certainly proven itself to be a brilliant addition toStar Wars, but it still highlights a major issue with Disney+. Even with the finale remaining, it feels safe to assumeSkeleton Crewwill be considered one ofStar Wars’best TV showsmoving forward.Skeleton Crew’scharactersand the various planets, concepts, and plot points in the show have all felt genuinely innovative and unique amongStar Warsmovies and TV shows.
Skeleton Crewhas also managed to do this while remaining tied toStar Wars’original message, making itthe bestStar Warsshow sinceAndor. Nevertheless,Skeleton Crewis suffering from one of the biggest issues with not just Disney+ but also streaming services more broadly. Not even a show as creative and thrilling asSkeleton Crewcan escapeStar Warslive-action TV shows' issue of simply not having enough episodes or enough time per episode.
Star Wars' Live-Action TV Shows Don’t Have Enough Episodes
With Some Exceptions, Star Wars Shows Generally Have 8-Episode Seasons
Star Wars’live-action TV shows began withThe Mandalorianin 2019, and many shows have been developed since. In addition toThe Mandalorian’sthree seasons thus far (it’s unclear whetherThe Mandalorian & Groguis a replacement forThe Mandalorianseason 4), shows likeObi-Wan Kenobi,Andor,Ahsoka, and nowSkeleton Crewhave also been released. AmongStar Wars’upcoming TV showsareAndorseason 2 andAhsokaseason 2 as well.With nearly all these shows, each season contains on average just 8 episodes, most of which have a runtime of about 30 minutes.
There are some exceptions to this rule, most notably withAndor’s12-episode season andObi-Wan Kenobi’smere 6 episodes.Obi-Wan Kenobi’ssignificantly lower number of episodes is at first a bit jarring, but it makes sense givenObi-Wan Kenobi’shistory. Originally,Obi-Wan Kenobiwas conceived of as a trilogy of movies—meaning this represents about 2 hours for each movie. The only other exception to this rule so far isThe Book of Boba Fett, which had 7 episodes.
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Skeleton Crew
The issue is, 8 episodes just aren’t enough to have fully fleshed out and compelling characters and story arcs, especially with many of these shows introducing brand-new characters. This was a major issue withThe Acolyte, as that show was introducing new characters and planets nearly across the board. In just 8 episodes (again, each running about 30 minutes long),The Acolytehad to establish background stories for each character, explain new planets and concepts, and build a narrative arc that concluded in a satisfying way.This is too much for any show to juggle.
8 episodes just aren’t enough to have fully fleshed out and compelling characters and story arcs.
This is also why the issue wasn’t as glaring for shows likeObi-Wan KenobiandAhsoka, even withObi-Wan Kenobihaving even fewer episodes than average, because they primarily were building upon characters and storylines that had already been explored in detail at other points in theStar Warstimeline. Unfortunately,Skeleton Crewis closer toThe Acolytethan toAhsokaorObi-Wan Kenobi, given most of the characters are brand-new, as areSkeleton Crew’splanets.
This issue with the number and length of episodes largely hasn’t been a problem withStar Wars’animated shows. Shows likeStar Wars: The Clone Wars,Star Wars Rebels, andStar Wars: The Bad Batchhad significantly more episodes and many more seasons.The Clone Wars, which ran for 7 seasons, had on average 22 episodes per season, with that number dropping only in seasons 6 and 7.Rebelshad 5 seasons, two of which had 15 episodes, and two had 22. EvenThe Bad Batch, with just 3 seasons, had about 16 episodes per season.
Skeleton Crew’s Characters Deserved More Time
With Just 8 Episodes, The Skeleton Crew Characters' Stories Feel Cut Short
In part, the problem withStar Wars’live-action TV shows having so few episodes per season and rather short episodes as well is thatthe characters often deserve significantly more time and attention. This feels especially true ofSkeleton Crewin light of the cast that primarily comprises four kids. These kids are easily one of the best parts of the show, if not the single best part, and it would have been wonderful to see their characters fleshed out even more and get to witness a longer and more complicated journey.
Skeleton Crewepisode 6 made that especially clear by finally getting around to KB, who deserves more characterization than just one episode. The larger problem in the case ofSkeleton Crewalso comes down to the kids' ages.Skeleton Crewbegan filming in 2022 and had wrapped filming by the end of January 2023. This means that nearly two years have passed since filming finished on the show, and it’s only just being released now. Even ifSkeleton Crewwas renewed for a second season—which hasn’t yet been announced—the kids' ages would require a time jump.
Even ifSkeleton Crewwas renewed for a second season—which hasn’t yet been announced—the kids' ages would require a time jump.
While a jump forward by a few years wouldn’t be the end of the world, andSkeleton Crewseason 2 would no doubt deliver, it is a shame that the stories of these characters weren’t explored in greater detail while they were younger. This is also something that isn’t an issue with animation, as the characters can be aged on whatever timeline the show chooses. In the case ofSkeleton Crew, the reverse would be true; the story would be dictated in part by the real-life ages of the actors.
There’s Actually A Financial Value To Longer Episodes On A Streamer
This makes it all the more confounding that Disney+ has opted for shorter episodes and 8-episode seasons. Presumably,part of the issue is that Disney’s live-action streaming shows are still quite new, only beginning in 2019. It makes sense that it would take some time for Disney to sort out how exactly to make this new model work. Hopefully, though, Disney will soon recognize that both the company and the viewer would benefit from longer episodes and longer seasons, for financial and narrative reasons.
Star Wars Isn’t Alone In This Issue
The Streaming Standard Is Becoming 8 Episodes—And Viewers Aren’t Happy
It’s worth noting,Star Warsis far from the only franchise suffering from this 8-episode season, 30-minute (approximately) episode model. In fact, Disney+ as a streaming platform isn’t alone in its approach to live-action streaming shows. Other major streaming services, such as Netflix, have plenty of shows that comprise just 8 episodes, and it’s led to plenty of complaints from audiences.
Other major streaming services, such as Netflix, have plenty of shows that comprise just 8 episodes, and it’s led to plenty of complaints from audiences.
This was especially true of Netflix’s popular showBridgertonfollowing its most recent season, season 3, and the announcement that there would be a 2-year gap between seasons 3 and 4 dropping. Viewers took to social media to complain about the fact thatBridgertonis taking years between seasons, yet each season has just 8 episodes. This is a major shift with streaming services, as network TV shows likeLostused to have hour-long episodes (when factoring in commercials) and put out on average 20 episodes per season.
It’s unlikely thatStar Warswill halt its live-action streaming shows any time soon, even with just two upcoming shows confirmed, as these shows have become a key component of the franchise’s model. This hopefully means Disney is constantly reassessing and open to adapting its approach, though, which would ideally include a major update to the length of streaming shows' episodes and seasons.Star Wars: Skeleton Crewis unquestionably an excellentStar Warsshow, but that just makes it all the more disappointing that it has fallen victim to this streaming issue.
The first seven episodes ofStar Wars: Skeleton Creware now streaming on Disney+.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
Cast
Skeleton Crew follows four ordinary children who become lost in the expansive Star Wars galaxy. As they navigate unfamiliar worlds and the challenges they present, the group endeavors to find their way back to their home planet, undertaking a journey across the iconic Star Wars universe.
