The MCU’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law will come to a close on October 13, 2022, bringing the nine-episode series to an end. One of the criticisms for She-Hulk has been over filler episodes that wouldn’t have been an issue had it been a feature film instead.
Redditors have already compiled which TV shows they feel would have been far better had they been presented as a film instead of a series. These range from Western miniseries like Godless to other MCU TV shows that can be found on Disney+. It’s worth checking these out since the Redditors have provided some insightful reasons as to why the TV show format has hurt these stories.
Godless (2017)
Godless is considered among the best Western TV shows to be released, winning multiple Emmy awards. However, Redditor NightsOfFellini thinks the miniseries was better served as a movie because it “was spread too thin as well, could've been a tight little Western.”
Godless follows an outlaw on the run who comes across a small town that is run entirely by women, and his new setting provides him with the perfect cover. Although there’s one straight story from start to finish, Godless does have some padding of the runtime to fill out all the episodes that could have been removed to tell a more concise Western story as a film.
Awake (2012)
Awake has a remarkably intriguing premise about a detective who can tap into two realities, one where his wife survived a car crash and another where his son did. Redditor touchingthebut feels that Awake had a “solid premier but fell off trying to do the case-of-the-week" structure.”
The show’s outline does sound more suited to a movie than a weekly episode series, seeing as Awake’s interesting story would benefit from a limited runtime. Awake didn’t last longer than a single season, with the overarching mystery sidelined to justify the 13-episode order.
Designated Survivor (2016-19)
Designated Survivor is a political thriller following the protagonist after he’s sworn in as the U.S. President when everyone in the line of succession is killed off in a bomb explosion. Redditor wookiewin didn’t like that “the main concept of the show was dropped pretty fast.”
Designated Survivor quickly left out the overarching mystery to become similar to the standard outline that’s been seen many times in the genre. It’s even been considered a “so-bad-it’s-funny” show for its later premise. Designated Survivor’s plot line would have done well with a film that had the protagonist searching for the real culprit and proving their mettle as the president by the end.
The Outsider (2020)
The Outsider is based on a novel by Stephen King, which follows a jaded detective investigating a horrifying new case that reminds him of his son’s death. Redditor CapeshitConnoisseur writes that the “end of episode 2 was the midpoint of the book, but they stretched it out for 8 more episodes.”
The Outsider’s overarching story is about the psyche of the protagonist and how it’s affected by the investigation. With 10 episodes to fill out, a lot of the focus went to the side characters that wouldn’t have happened in a feature film. The Outsider received fairly positive reviews, but it might have been better remembered as a mystery movie.
The Flight Attendant (2020-22)
Even with the various twists in The Flight Attendant’s plot, there was quite a bit of filler that was meant to set up a future season. Redditor kawfikawfi echoes these sentiments by writing that “By the end, it was really just setting it up for a second season.”
The Flight Attendant comes across as a classic whodunit murder mystery film on paper, centering around the titular character when she realizes her lover has been killed through unknown means. It’s difficult to keep a thriller going for multiple episodes with just that outline, which is why The Flight Attendant may have benefited from a theatrical release.
Jessica Jones (2015-19)
Redditor Kthranos thinks that Jessica Jones didn’t need 13 episodes and that it “could've benefited from a movie budget as well.” Jessica Jones follows the superhero detective as she solves various crimes while struggling to battle her past demons
Jessica Jones’ case-of-the-week style isn’t suited for those used to the MCU’s usual offerings, as the series takes a slow approach to end the main story. With a larger budget for the fight scenes and a concise plot to follow, Jessica Jones had the potential to be one of the most memorable MCU films to be released.
Loki (2021-)
Loki follows the trickster god as he works for the Time Variance Authority, falling in love with his variant while partnering with a TVA agent. Redditor NeitherAlexNorAlice thinks that “most of the interactions between Sylvie and Mobius with Loki repeated themselves so many times throughout the show.”
While fans of the MCU love every appearance by Loki, the character basically had the same things to say to Sylvie and Mobius. The majority of the dialogue had to do with Loki trying to talk Sylvie down from being vengeful and trading one-liners with Mobius. A condensed version would have been possible with a two-hour movie that didn’t need to be stretched out as the Disney+ series was.
The Falcon And The Winter Soldier (2021)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier didn’t have much of a break in the story between episodes, with the end of each episode coming across as jarring for many. Redditor TriscuitCracker writes that the series “felt like watching a movie split up into six parts.”
The six-episode series was mainly about the titular duo stopping a terrorist group from wreaking havoc, which was along the lines of MCU movies rather than the traditional TV show format. With Captain American: New World Order on the horizon, it appears that the MCU has decided to stick with the film format for the characters in the future.
Sharp Objects (2018)
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Sharp Objects follows a troubled reporter returning to her hometown to cover a mystery that then draws her back into the toxic relationship she has with her overbearing mother. Redditor DreamyDeen feels that the series had a “drawn-out atmospheric scenery, and it’s plot twists and intensity would translate as well if not more in film format.”
Sharp Objects received generally positive reviews, but there were quite a few scenes simply dedicated to showing how claustrophobic the protagonist’s environment is, which is already easily understood. A film format would have cut down the unnecessary cinematography and done better justice to the pacing of the story.
Schmigadoon! (2021-)
Schmigadoon! is a musical comedy that follows a couple that comes across a town perpetually stuck in a musical and has to repair their relationship. Redditor Whatever___forever23 writes that Schmigadoon! is clearly a “movie cut up to sitcom size, with the musical people doing a song and the confused leads making snarky comments.”
Since the main characters have no idea what’s going on, they end up frequently remarking at the bizarre nature of the musical characters doing their thing. This wouldn’t have happened in a film due to the smaller runtime, which would have saved Schmigadoon! from engaging in filler dialogue.
Source:gamerant.com