The bitesized TV hits
is now spent on clips shorter than 20 minutes. 39 per cent of viewing time is of clips five minutes or shorter.
Netflix, too, has turned its attention to creating and curating shorter content to feed the itinerant binger. Half-hour comedy specials like The Standups, soon to return for a second season, represent shorter, smarter content for your mobile phone, as well as a handy vehicle to launch breakout stars like Kyle Kinane and Aparna Nancherla.
That comes with a caveat. Firms like Netflix are wary of biting off too much and diluting their brand: quality in quantity is still the modus operandi.
Yet bolder creatives have embraced the format. “Short form has allowed us to be more experimental,” says Rubina Pabani, producer of bitesize BBC Three doc Things Not To Say and the podcast DAS. “Sceptics in the industry think short-form lacks the same quality as long form and overlooks the art of concise story-telling, but short-form can be incredibly compelling and also offers a platform for marginalised voices.”
Here’s how to minimise your commitment and maximise entertainment.
The Standups
Netflix, 30 minutes
Sets with comedians such as Nate Bargatze and Deon Cole run in a continuous edit. But to nail the quick-fire experience, Netflix is going further: 15-minute specials are coming soon.
Atlanta
BBC iPlayer, around 25 minutes
Donald Glover’s Atlanta is a low-energy comedy about Earn (Glover), a college drop-out managing the rap career of his cousin, Alfred (Brian Tyree Henry), the next it’s absurd, even surrealist. Each episode is around 25 minutes long.
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Netflix, 15 minutes
Dave Chappelle, Ellen DeGeneres, Alec Baldwin — Season 10 of this escapade has a strong line-up. Luminaries drink coffee with Jerry Seinfeld in classic cars. Episodes are usually about 15 minutes (four earlier series are also on Netflix).
Things Not To Say
BBC iPlayer, five minutes
Viral — but vital — explainer videos piloted by BBC Three in the internetfriendly format of two people at a tableanswering common queries. Includes “eight people with autism set the record straight so everyone else can stop asking such cringeworthy questions”. Less than five minutes on average.
Snatches
BBC iPlayer, 15 minutes
A show as sharp as its double-edged title: Snatches refers both to the brevity of each episode and well, you know — it’s a show about women’s experiences, told in monologue form, so take a guess. Curated by Vicky Featherstone, the Royal Court Theatre’s artistic director, it stars the likes of Katherine Parkinson to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage.
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