Though Netflix has become synonymous with binge-watching, typically releasing new seasons of big-name series like House of Cards and Orange is the New Black all at once, the streaming service will be trying something a little different for Jennette McCurdy’s survival thriller series Between.
In order to accommodate Canada’s City network, which has the first worldwide rights to broadcast the series, Netflix will release the six-episode season on a week-by-week basis, mirroring the standard model for cable television. City will air Between in Canada at 8 p.m. (beginning May 21st), and Netflix will then make the episode available at 9 p.m. that same night for its worldwide territories.
Though that news may make a chill run through the veins of all those who treasure the ability to gorge on 13 episodes of a new Netflix show in as many hours, the Between release strategy will not be applied to other new series – OITNB, for example, will still drop all episodes of its third season on June 12th.
Additionally, Netflix’s approach to Between seems quite promising for fans of British television who dream of one day watching shows from the U.K. mere hours after they premiere across the pond. Seeing as this is a Canadian deal, we’re not there yet, but this is certainly a step in the right direction.
Whether viewers will reject the weekly model or not is for Netflix to find out – the streaming giant is known for not releasing viewing data – but we’ll know soon enough, given that Netflix is sure to try the strategy again should Between prove successful, or to abandon it if the release is a flop.
Between stars McCurdy as a pregnant teenager whose world is shattered when a mysterious virus kills everyone over the age of 21 in the small town of Pretty Lake. Though the teen had planned to leave the town behind to find a new life, she’s forced to come to terms with a harsh new reality when the government imposes a quarantine around the town. With looting and other crime on the rise as order collapses into chaos, Pretty Lake and its residents will never be the same.
Between premieres May 21st on Netflix.
The death toll is rising. New #Netflix original series coming May 21st. #NetflixBetween #PrayForPrettyLake https://t.co/qeNdk1cobx
— Jennette McCurdy (@jennettemccurdy) March 9, 2015
