stereoroid t1_ja9ik0s wrote on February 27, 2023 at 8:56 PM

One example that springs to mind straight away is The West Wing: mild spoiler ahead. At the end of season 1, something major happens, and the first episode of season 2 is a 2-parter with a lot of flashbacks about "how the team got together" a few years earlier. I think it was related to the fact of having a second season at all, meaning they could do a more detailed dive in to character origins.

Since The Last Of Us is a clear success, I think something similar is happening: we can now invest more in to these characters.

HolidayHowlett t1_ja9luti wrote on February 27, 2023 at 9:16 PM

All of these episodes were filmed and likely done with most if not all post production well before the first episode aired.

This was always planned and has nothing to do with the success of the show.

POPAccount t1_jab0lnf wrote on February 28, 2023 at 3:14 AM

The West Wing was one of the most egregious violations of the trope, especially since the first season ended with a huge cliffhanger. I am glad that I was able to binge it my first viewing