This is true. Longer show orders just also generally meant a longer time for the cast and crew to be around each other. When it takes 5 or 6 months to record 22-26 episodes instead of 2 and a half or 3 months to film 10-15 as you pointed out, it just limits the building of those relationships.

Going back to my Star Trek reference (because I'm an obsessive), the movies were always better when they had to use a smaller budget in more creative ways.

I think now that shows have become more expensive to produce, the money gets pooled up to pay actors instead of using them to extend episode orders.

Much of my POV in this is also coming from watching That 90s Show recently, which I thought had a decent first season. And much of what I've mentioned (at least in the case of this show) can be chalked up, in-universe, to the fact that it was Leah's first summer there. So much like the actors themselves, the character is just getting to know a lot of these other people for the first time.

I'm sure that Season 2, with an "extended" order of 16 episodes, is going to be even better, because the friendships were already starting to form. When we hit their "next summer", I guarantee that the show will take off even more.

Ensemble shows always take time to get good. The first season is always going to be rough because ensemble shows rely on the friendships of the characters.

Production of the first season, the actors are (usually) meeting for the first time, or getting to know their characters relationships with the other characters. The actors themselves still need to get to know each other behind the scenes.

That's why second and third seasons are usually when ensemble shows (think the various Star Treks) start to hit their stride. The characters' chemistry on screen and their friendships finally start to mirror the real friendships made behind the scenes.

For example: Riker and Troi in TNG had all this established backstory and an implied previous relationship, but the first two seasons, it felt like they barely knew each other when they interacted. But as the time went, and friendships built, their on-screen chemistry matched an implied genuine friendship off-screen. Same thing with Picard and Dr. Crusher.

Did you read the review?

>Here is a Santa who gripes that “Saying ‘Merry Christmas to all’ has suddenly become problematic,” and huffs at the idea that deeming a kid too naughty for presents is “brat-shaming.”

The first is a talking point of the right-wing "War on Christmas" narrative, and the second is obviously something a conservative Uncle would say when having to buy a present for all the nieces and nephews at the Christmas reunion.

Ugh, Tim Allen's weird conservative values are shining through again. But this time as Santa. Now I get to watch 6 episodes of Santa complaining that things are too PC and the "War on Christmas" will get some actualized representation of some sort too, more than likely.