It's not just you: The wait for new seasons of big TV shows has almost doubled in the last 6 years, says report citing "Stranger Things effect"

Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven in Stranger Things season 5 episode 8 — (Image credit: Netflix)

A new report confirms that we aren't losing our minds: the wait between new seasons of our favorite TV shows is getting longer and longer.

According to a press release from Ampere Analysis, the average gap between seasons of scripted original series has almost doubled from 12 months in 2020 to 21 months in 2025. The report cites Stranger Things, Severance, and Wednesday as the biggest examples, noting that the latter two generated "almost twice the average engagement levels" despite lengthy waits between seasons. I would argue that Severance came back bigger and better than ever, despite the three-year wait between seasons 1 and 2, with the second season being lauded with Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

The report also interestingly states that sci-fi & fantasy titles, "often involving complex, high-budget productions," tend to perform the strongest despite long waits between seasons. There are other high-production shows that seem to be more concerned with keeping momentum, and have therefore gone into production right after their previous season. There was a three-year wait between seasons 1 and 2 Netflix's hit live-action One Piece series, but season 3 went into production while season 2 was still airing. HBO's newest Game of Thrones spin-off series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms also didn't waste any time, entering production on season 2 while season 1 was still airing on the streamer. To give you an idea of just how quick the turnaround time is, season 1 premiered in January 2026 and season 2 is slated for a January 2027 release.