TNT has spent the last few years putting together high-profile dramas like The Last Ship and the recently premiered Public Morals. Big, bold dramas are certainly on-trend on TV right now and TNT is taking its trendiness a step-further by mimicking another popular TV concept: binge-watching. This weekend, the network has made available every single Season 1 episode of Public Morals for audiences to watch.
This aping of Netflix’s format is an interesting move, considering Public Morals only officially started airing on TNT a few weeks ago. Two episodes have aired so far, and while a decent audience tuned in for the first episode, numbers were down for Episode 2. Obviously, making all episodes available is an experiment that could potentially lead viewers to engage further with the cable network’s latest drama. The first four episodes were already made available online following the show’s August 25th premiere. TNT says the response has been “tremendous”, and as a result has released the rest of the episodes through the weekend for fans. If you’d like to check out Public Morals, the entire first season will be available through Monday evening on TNT On Demand, tntdrama.com and the Watch TNT mobile app. Subsequently, the first four episodes will continue to be available online.
TNT isn’t the only network that has decided the Netflix model might be a good fit for regular TV programming. A few months ago, NBC took a similar approach with its brand new series Aquarius, starring David Duchovny. The network actually released the entire first season when the first episode hit the airwaves, which is a little different from TNT’s plan, as the whole season will only be available through the weekend. While NBC has said the network probably won’t stream full seasons in the future, Aquarius did get renewed, so obviously something was working.
If you don’t know much about Public Morals, (similar to Aquarius) the period drama is set in the turbulent 1960s. The cop drama is set in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York, and follows two officers (played by Edward Burns and Michael Rapaport), who do the best they can to deal with problems while working for the city’s Public Morals Division. But mob factions and more can make the job a particularly difficult one.
If you’d like to catch Public Morals, feel free to binge-watch the first season now via the aforementioned outlets. Or, if you’d rather view the show via the traditional channel, new episodes will continue to air on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET, only on TNT. If you are interested in what’s coming up this fall, here’s the fall TV schedule.
