The creator of ‘Lost’ explains why he doesn’t like Netflix-style binge-watching

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April 11, 2017 3:31 PM

Damon Lindelof is the co-creator of suspenseful series like “Lost” and “The Leftovers, but he doesn't want you to binge-watch them.

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Damon Lindelof is the co-creator of suspenseful series like “Lost” and “The Leftovers,” which you might be tempted to watch at a dizzying pace. But Lindelof would much rather you didn’t.

In fact, Lindelof recently sent a letter to critics begging them not to binge-watch the episodes of "The Leftovers" he was sending, he recounted on the KCRW podcast, “The Business.”

“I am a complete and total hypocrite,” Lindelof admitted, saying he was prone to binge himself. But at the same time, Lindelof thinks we should try to exercise some degree of restraint in our watching habits. He said some shows were good to binge, particularly comedies, but that we lose something when we consume shows at such incredible velocity.

What exactly do we lose? “This idea of anticipation” of the next episode, according to Lindelof. “That Christmas morning feeling …. doesn’t exist in binge culture.”

Lindelof isn’t the only Hollywood superstar to caution against binge-watching recently.

Last month, “Buffy” and “Firefly” creator Joss Whedon said that if shows are made for binge-watching, there is a sense of narrative that is lost. He worries that people don't take time to really breathe and understand what happened in a given episode.

“It loses its power, and we lose something with it,” he said of binge-watching. "We lose our understanding of narrative. Which is what we come to television for."

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