How do you decide when to tap out of a show? Television series need time to develop stories and characters, but you also need to know that things are going somewhere.
For me, it’s a hard four episodes. That’s how many I will give a show to convince me to invest in it long-term. If I get to episode four and I’m not into it, I will bail; sometimes earlier than that if it’s really bad.
I’ve been following the ‘Episode Four Rule’ since the first season of HBO’s True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The show’s last couple seasons have been OK at best, but season one is all-time great television. However, I remember watching the first couple eps on HBO 10 years ago and not being completely HOOKED.
It was interesting, well-acted and well-made, but I wasn’t enamored with it. Then episode four ‘Who Goes There’ blew my socks off with the stunning six-minute tracking shot of Rust (McConaughey) navigating the terrifying hellscape of a neighborhood-wide drug raid, while being unofficially undercover with the drug-dealing motorcycle gang known as the Iron Crusaders.
Featured in this slideshow I posted to our Instagram are the six continuous minutes of heart-pounding mayhem that are meticulously choreographed (well technically five mins here, this was the longest version I could find on YouTube).
It’s a stunningly cinematic scene that took the show into a whole new realm of groundbreaking storytelling and filmmaking; resulting in episode four being the highest rated episode of the entire series on IMDB at 9.6. The season just then went up from there in terms of elite, existential drama and thrills.
So I’m glad I continued with the show because it’s (season one) one of my all-time favorite seasons of television, thanks to sticking with it after episode four.
I just wanted to share and encourage practicing the ‘Episode Four Rule’ and you’ll have a proper balance of giving stories time to flourish or perish, while minimizing wasted time that could be better spent on higher quality shows.
