Once upon a time, we would come home from school, switch on the TV, watch an episode of our favourite show, discuss every detail on a three-way conference call with our besties, and lament that we had to wait another week to find out what happened next.

Now, 10 episodes of a show drop at once, and we devour them all at once too; chomp, chomp, pausing only for snack and bathroom breaks. But 10 episodes rarely deliver 10 times the action. Now, on the group chat with our besties, we complain that we wanted more to happen.

It’s not you. TV shows are now slower. What started off as scene-setting (The Sopranos, 1999 - 2007) and world-building (Mad Men 2007 - 2015; Breaking Bad (2008 - 2013) is now a drawn-out style that geeks like to call slow-burn storytelling. At its best, it allows a show to focus on characters and a complicated plot, getting viewers more deeply invested, building fandoms and loyalties. At its worst, it seems like a bad school play.

Think of Mirzapur S3, which released in July. Fans were upset that it lacked the fight scenes and fast-moving plots that made S1 and S2 so great. The general consensus was, “they’re just setting up for Season 4”. The slowdown is deliberate, calculated.

It makes sense when you think of each season as an act in a play. The first season drops with a bang: Exciting, fresh and high concept, trying everything to build a fan base. The second season builds on whatever the audience likes best: Casual swearing, a side character who shines, backstories, a deeper exposition. So what does S3 do? Like Act 3 of a four-act play, it’s merely the calm before the storm. The stretching is sign of an explosion to come.

This isn’t always boring. Even without a big fight, a major death or a plot twist in every episode, slow-burn shows pack in a lot. Characters weigh their decisions instead of just jumping in, events unfold more realistically, revenge plots seem all the sweeter when there’s a bit of waiting. Besides, as the last season of Game of Thrones (2011 - 2019) proves, rushing a plot (and dropping the nudity and intrigue) is an epic fail. The last few seasons of Gilmore Girls ruined all the good work of the earlier episodes, as the show kept adding storylines (We’ll never forgive them for introducing us to April).

Most shows aren’t cut out to operate at a breakneck pace. How to Get Away with Murder (2014 - 2020) had a constant stream of killings, bizarre hook-ups, and top-secret relationships. Add that to the flash-backs and flash forwards, and it eventually became a chore to keep up. Succession (2018 - 2023), on the other hand, knew exactly how to make the most of its slow pace. The billionaires on the show were far too wealthy to be flashy. So, the episodes drip-fed us bits of the high life. Private jets, yes, but strategic meetings held at refuelling stops. Manhattan mansions, yes, but petty fights in the study.

It’s what The Boys should have done with S4 this year. Each character has their own storyline, and it’s so tangled up, it’s confusing even the fans. The superheroes still haven’t made much progress against the sinister conglomerate, Vought. But hey, that’s what S5 is for, isn’t it?

How about we forget the destination and try enjoying the journey? That’s probably the only way we’ll all live happily ever after.

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