The following contains spoilers for the ending of Willow on Disney+.
Of all the things the streaming entertainment world has changed about how television works, one of the most nebulous is the concept of viewers and how that translates into canceled or renewed shows. It’s virtually impossible to know, while a show is on, how many people are actually watching it, and apparently this is also true of the people who make the show, since Willow Executive producer Jon Kasdan admits he has no idea the chances of his Disney+ show returning.
The Disney+ series following the film Willow He loudly announced in his Acne finale that he hopes to return for future seasons. A mid-credits scene takes the book, seen at the beginning of each episode, and puts it on a shelf. This is where we see the book labeled Volume I, but it also sits alongside books labeled Volume II and Volume III, indicating at least a tentative plan for not just one, but two more seasons. I had a chance to speak with writer/producer Jon Kasdan after the show’s season finale and asked him if he had any idea what the show’s chances of getting those two extra seasons would be. He turns out not. He said…
It’s so mysterious and confusing. I have no knowledge of the economics of this or what would drive this decision. If someone were to tell me tomorrow, “We couldn’t do another season of Willow,” I’d say, “Oh yeah, well, that makes sense.” And if they were like, ‘We have to do another season of Willow now,’ I’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, well, that makes sense too.’
So, at least at the time of our interview, Kasdan didn’t know who the show’s audience was. Willow series, I had no idea what kind of metrics Disney would use to determine whether future seasons of Willow they are a good bet.
Some subscription metrics, while most of us don’t see them, can be easily understood. The number of people who start watching a TV show is invaluable. So is the number of people who keep watching it till the end. The more people watched all of Season 1, the more likely people are to start Season 2. Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly what the magic number is. And there will always be those who find the program later, even though many people may never start such a program Willow if they know it was canceled before they finished their story.
We tend to only hear about specific streaming numbers when a company like Netflix wants to brag about their success. Like Netflix, Disney+ generally doesn’t release viewing numbers.
Jon Kasdan has admitted to making controversial decisions with Willow. It’s possible these things will eventually come back to bite the show. She said she doesn’t even know when she will know when Willowfate will be decided. She’s hoping it can happen this spring, which means there’s still time for more people to check out the show. Christian Slater will return if the show does.
Source: Cinemablend
