If you’ll allow us our very own Ghostface moment, we have a question for you: What’s your favorite TV series? Now, what’s your favorite season of that TV series? And (before we gut you like a fish, obviously) why is it season three?
That’s right: It’s a truth universally acknowledged, although never uttered aloud, that most long-running TV shows tend to become the very best version of themselves around the third-season mark. Which is, incidentally, very good news for fans of Bridgerton, The Bear, Euphoria, and Industry, as all four are due to drop their respective contributions to the Golden S3 Club in 2024.
“But hang on a minute,” we hear you cry from across the internet. “Hang on just a danged minute. Why are you peddling this theory that season three is above and beyond the best of all when it comes to TV?”
Well, we’ll tell you why—or, rather, we’ll help you on your way to realizing this unwritten truth for yourselves. Open your minds for a moment, and take a beat to answer the following questions (because, yes, that Ghostface bit has us on a bit of a quizmaster power kick): When did the Red Wedding take place in Game Of Thrones? When did Faith and Mayor Wilkins join forces in Buffy The Vampire Slayer? When did our favorite and oh-so-eccentric sextet explore the ins and outs of remedial chaos theory in Community? And when did we get the very best possible run (episodes 19 to 23 of the show’s third batch, to be specific) in Lost?
As seasoned fans of excellent TV, you already know the answers to all of the above, of course, and are swinging like a pendulum ’round to our way of thinking. But we’re not done yet. Because when did Paulie and Christopher get their Coen brothers on for that spectacularly failed attempt to collect from the Russian in The Sopranos? When did Mulder and Scully find themselves stranded on a rock—facing down a lake monster, no less—and have a beautiful series highlight of a 10-page-long conversation? When did Ron and Tammy have hilariously wild prison sex (and Leslie and Ben realize the true extent of their feelings for one another) in Parks And Recreation? And when did Dean break up with Rory in front of the entire town—and during the grueling 23rd hour of a dance marathon—in Gilmore Girls?
The answer to all of the above is, of course, season three. And the same is true of Meredith disappearing under the water in Grey’s Anatomy, Carrie’s love triangle with Big and Aidan in Sex And The City, Flint leaning into his vengeful monstrous side in Black Sails, the Weeping Angels terrifying Doctor Who fans for the very first time, the Borg taking Picard captive in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and on and on.
Okay, we won’t bang on, because you get the picture, essentially. Shows become good–really, really, really good–when they hit their stride come the third season. And the reasons for this are manifold: Budgets are usually significantly improved, writers have gotten to know their characters inside and out, and, above all else, a sense of flow has been firmly established. Which means that all of the fizzing explosive energy of the first two seasons (exciting, sure, but occasionally about as easy to digest as a soda that’s been violently shaken before opening) gets a chance to settle into something… hmm, to lean into that heavy-handed metaphor, something truly delicious and thirst-quenching.
It’s not just about the circumstances surrounding a show’s creation, however: Many of us are geared to fall hard for season three on a psychological level, too. “By the time a show’s in its third season, we’ve really gotten to know the characters and their world,” explains U.K.-based empowerment coach Grace McMahon. “We’re attached, we’re comfortable with the show’s vibe, and we trust its makers to keep delivering.”
That being said, she offers a word of caution to those willing to fully subscribe to this theory, noting that “Sometimes, things start to dip after that third season sweet spot.” That’s right: the TV gods giveth and they taketh away, too. How many shows, for instance, have plummeted from the heady highs of a well-received third season into… well, into a gas leak (thanks for the terminology, Community) of a fourth? And no, we’re not just talking about Angel; there are more than a few shows that have failed to live up to the hype of their Golden S3 Club submissions. So, why is that?
“Maybe the writers run out of steam, or they take the story in a direction that doesn’t quite pique the viewer’s interest. Plus, key cast members might leave, throwing off the dynamic we have come to know and love so well,” says McMahon, adding that this is particularly true of newer shows.
“I guess trying to keep that momentum going can be tough, and people have so much choice these days that they might just quit while they’re ahead and find something new/go back to comfort shows,” she says musingly. “There’s less need to stay tuned with so many other options available.”
Ah, choice paralysis: Once again, you have a lot to answer for. Setting all of this aside, however, it can sometimes be the case that the all-important third season sets an impossibly high benchmark for later seasons to hit. The shows that are able to pull off that very feat—and even surpass its third-season greatness, like oh-so-cherished series such as Breaking Bad and The Wire—are rare indeed.
But what’s more likely is a show will manage to meet and surpass the season-three highs mark for a short while… until they run out of steam. And this is likely why Game Of Thrones, Lost, and Line Of Duty continue to prove so divisive among fans. They had such potential, before they brought us crashing down to Earth again with their controversial final rounds
Still, in a world where well over three-quarters of a million TV shows can now be watched on streaming and traditional television platforms, it’s nice to have a formula that helps us whittle things down to the very best. What’s worth watching? Or, in some cases, what’s worth rewatching? Let the Rotten Tomatoes score for that all-important third season be your guide—because, if it’s sitting somewhere pretty in the 90th percentile, you know you’re in for a good ride from the get-go. You can sit back and enjoy that slightly uneven first season and those not-quite-formed characters, safe in the knowledge that things can and will get better. Much better. Wildly, wonderfully, write-home-about better.
And if something new drops and you happen to guzzle up every last second, hoping against hope that it’ll be renewed, pray to your deity of choice for at least three seasons. At least.