Regular Series versus Limited Run Series versus Miniseries

When one wants to look at TV in general, they need to know some of how the changes are between one show and another. A lot of shows are what would be considered a regular series. But that’s not the only type of show that it exists. There’s also a limited run series which seems similar in some ways, but has a key difference that I’ll explain more about later. Yet another different thing is a miniseries. I might as well explain the differences between all of them since there are enough of them and not everyone is aware of them. Not all shows are the same.

The regular series should, in theory, be the most normal of all of them. They normally always have a full season of 22 episode or at least 18. They would never have as low as 13 episodes under most normal circumstances unless they are just starting out or they are at midseason. If a new show doesn’t get an order for more episodes, it will probably not last. A regular series is more likely to have episodes airing all year round and airing reruns during the summer.

A limited run series can, does, and will often have multiple seasons. But they do this with less episodes than a regular series and doesn’t need any backorders to keep lasting. You wouldn’t always know what is and isn’t a limited run series except that it is less likely to air all year round. Now that can affect the regular series too. These are just always going to have shorter seasons and never have full ones in most cases. As for if they can ever change to a regular series, I don’t know enough about them to know for sure what might be different, outside of them having less episodes.

A miniseries is different than all of them as it tends to air at weird times and then is never seen again. The main thing about this is that it is a guaranteed short term plan and will not be back no matter what. They will air the shortened time that they will and then they will never be seen again. This is the main thing that separates them from a limited run series. Sometimes they will air in a normal timeslot for a while. Other times, they will air in place of various regularly airing shows for the brief time that they are on. But they will never be back for another season.

There’s not much else to add for this post. Sometimes you think that other people might know what is and isn’t different in television, but other times, they won’t know all that you know. I might need to do a post into what a showrunner is (if I haven’t already), even though you’d think that the name would imply what it really is. But that can be or already is another post.