Faced with the frenzy of viewing, Duanju charts its own course

Over the past decade, the way we watch series has changed profoundly. With the rise of streaming, binge-watching, watching episodes one after the other without a break, has become almost the norm. Netflix, almost in spite of itself, has imposed this model by making all seasons available as soon as they are released.

Added to this is another phenomenon, already noted in 2017 by France Inter : "speed-watching." More and more viewers are speeding up their series, watching them at 1.25x or 1.5x, to save time without sacrificing content. In his column, the journalist explicitly notes: "It's the length of the episodes that will have to be shortened."

This reflex illustrates a contemporary paradox: wanting to see everything, consume everything, without having the time. It also reveals a need among some users: that of brevity.

In an article published in 2017, Alexandre Foatelli (INA) discusses the effects of binge-watching and speed-watching, which weaken silences, glances and breathing, discreet but essential elements of narration.

In 2020, Olivier Joyard, in Les Inrockuptibles, took a critical look at this practice. Beyond saving time, he denounced a utilitarian consumption of the story: accelerated viewing transforms series into anecdotal objects, emptied of their tension and emotional charge.

In 2023, Valérie Parlan, in Ouest-France, noted the anchoring of " speed-watching " in usage: almost a third of viewers would now resort to it, seeking to optimize their time.

Finally, in 2025, Katia De la Ballina observed in Le Point a general exhaustion: overwhelmed by the offer, a majority of viewers admit to being tired of the inflation of content and the implicit obligation to follow everything.

These findings reveal the lack of a truly suitable soap opera format. Already busy with busy days, viewers struggle to devote several hours to a series without feeling a kind of bitterness: that of having sacrificed too much of their lives to entertainment.

Look better, look short: Asian responsiveness.

Chinese producers and platforms have developed a new format: duanju. Driven by an already profitable economy, it is gaining popularity and is beginning to be exported. It offers episodes of 1 to 3 minutes. Whereas a classic series lasts ten hours in total, duanju condenses the entire plot into one hour.

His challenge now will be to attract the most ambitious creators and artists of the genre.

Article written by Guillaume Sanjorge, Audiovisual Producer.

#GuillaumeSanjorge

Sources:

• France Inter , January 3, 2017

• INA – The Media Review , September 25, 2017

• Les Inrocks , August 17, 2020

• Ouest-France , February 1, 2023

• Le Point , July 1, 2025