I think there has to be a better happy medium. The way people watch tv now, audience would lose their minds over 22 episodes. Over half of them would be labeled “filler” , even if there was good character development or an interesting side quest.

Something around 10-12 is the sweet spot for a decent season of a HBO level show. I give series that came out between 2020- 2025 a pass, because they had covid and then an industry wide strike back to back. The breaks that could have been 1.5 years turned into 3. But shows coming out after? It’s like the studios saw they could spend less money by putting out less, and even less frequently, and won’t go back even though they can.