DVDizzy Forum

Why does Disney only produce 53 episodes for most TV series and then stop?

The 3 season limit is a standard for television networks. Shows usually start getting stale after 3 seasons (e.g. SpongeBob, Family Guy, Rugrats, etc.) but that's not always the case.

I have often read that 52 episodes is a magic number for TV episodes because once you have hit that milestone, your show hits a sweet spot for syndication because, assuming that you are running the show 5 days a week, the show will get to run itself through 5 times in the course of the year.

On a personal note, I have often personally wondered if another reason for this is that networks assume that younger audiences are more fickle and so they are much more willing to cut off a show early instead of waiting for a significant decline in quality and/or value.

I think you mean 65.

Of course the two big exceptions to this rule were in the more popular shows That's So Raven and Hannah Montana...

...both of which overstayed their welcome.

Kim Possible and Phineas & Ferb have broken this chain too, so I guess once an animated show is really popular it gets more episodes regardless of any rule. Both are, in my opinion, pretty entertaining shows with quite solid animation for a tv show.

The 65 (or 53 now, I don't really know) episodes rule is probably the amount of episodes needed for Disney to sell them in syndication, or to international buyers.

It's a dumb rule. Shows, even cartoons shows, should keep going if they have not lost steam. Disney only hurts themselves but sticking to this rule.