Under that rule of thumb, The Wire and Babylon 5 would never have been made. And from a more recent sample, The Expanse would not have been allowed to get to t

Under that rule of thumb, The Wire and Babylon 5 would never have been made. And from a more recent sample, The Expanse would not have been allowed to get to the end of the story arc. All three have a few things in common. A strong cast of good-but-not-a-star actors.[ß] Writers who knew what they were doing. A story that they wanted to tell, and knew how long it would take. And above all: the integrity to end the series once the story was told. No stretching into infinity with useless rehashing or replaying of old hits. No resets. No desperate attempts to magically reinvent itself. You pointed this out yourself: Shows that get dragged out inevitably suck. ß: Idris Elba became a star later. (EDIT: grammar)