The Challenge of Invincible's Midseason Break: Looking at the Future of the Franchise

The Anticipation and Impact of Invincible's Return

The return of Invincible in late 2023 showcased just how big the series is to Amazon, but its midseason break presents a major challenge to the franchise's future. After debuting in March 2021, Invincible was on hiatus for nearly two and a half years before returning last November. This lengthy pause created a lot of anticipation for the show's return, with social media buzz alongside memes giving the series life, despite being off-screen for so long. It returned with a bang and maintained its quality, delivering on the high expectations season 1 set. Invincible season 2, part 1's ending created an appetite for more, but fans will have to wait.

Mark Grayson and the Invincible season 2 poster

Over a month has already passed since part 1 concluded, leaving audiences in the dark about what is next for season 2. Invincible is set to resume in early 2024, but there has been no official return date. After waiting two and a half years, a month or two might be small in comparison, but this new formula does start to create issues going forward. Robert Kirkman's Invincible plans suggest the show will be around for a while, initially aiming for seven to eight seasons before joking about making 100. With no end in sight, the future of the series could take a big hit through midseason breaks.

Mark taking off his mask in Invincible season 2

The Impact of the Midseason Break on Audience Engagement

When Invincible finally returned, there was so much anticipation, but the hype after the midseason finale has already begun to fade. Given how long the gap was between season 1 and 2, any reveal caused huge online reaction, with Invincible's season 2 teaser trailer gaining a lot of attention. The teaser was released in January 2023 and announced the show would be coming later in the year, which was more than enough to get people talking. Invincible season 2's viewership record smashed season 1's, proving that people were ready for more of the show and were itching for it to come back.

Mark looking at phone in Invincible season 2 teaser

While season 2 certainly made a splash, with each episode having major talking points, the hype around the show has died down. The midseason finale was likely created to allow a bit of a breather, letting audiences digest the events of episode 4 before going again. Unfortunately, Invincible's online presence has fallen and although the series still seems in position to perform well upon its return, the break seems to have hurt its momentum rather than help it. Part 2 of Invincible season 2 still has plenty of questions to answer, but the longer the wait is, the less exciting those reveals will be, which could be a problem for the show's future.

Mark against a starry night in Invincible season 2

Challenges of the Four-Episode Halves and Solutions for the Future

If Invincible continues to split the show into four-episode halves, it could become difficult for audiences to stay invested. Amazon's traditional eight-episode format worked well for Invincible season 1, releasing its first three episodes at once to get people invested, before the next five episodes were released weekly. Season 2 switched approaches, instead, opting to release four weekly episodes before taking a break and presumably doing the same upon return. After two and a half years of waiting, four episodes before another hiatus isn't a lot. This may have already led to some viewers checking out, while others may struggle to stick with the show in the years to come.

Invincible in Invincible season 1 finale

The sooner the show returns, the better for its future, but long breaks after an already huge gap between seasons make the show much harder to invest in. When Invincible part 2 does arrive, it will be over in just four weeks, which will likely fly by and then the waiting process will begin all over again. With Invincible being Rotten Tomatoes' best-reviewed TV show of 2023, the showrunners are clearly doing something right, and while longer waits do mean higher quality, people won't stick with the show forever. Great reviews and an invested audience have led to Invincible being so well renowned, but losing the latter raises concerns about the show's longevity.

Atom Eve and Mark Grayson from Invincible in red with Mark from season 2 behind them

Strategies for Overcoming the Midseason Problem

Although the midseason pauses could become a problem, season 3 can overcome it. Robert Kirkman already confirmed the wait for Invincible season 3 will be much shorter than the wait for season 2, which will avoid creating the same level of expectations. While the buzz around the show is a good thing, too much of it could lead to midseason breaks turning viewers away. If the show comes around more consistently, it will be easier to deal with Invincible being gone for a couple of months between each half of the season. Kirkman made midseason breaks work with The Walking Dead and could do so again with Invincible.

A collage of the characters from Invincible season 2 with an image of Mark Grayson over it

Atom Eve's special was also released several months before Invincible season 2, helping build anticipation. This is a format the franchise could adopt for the future, creating one-off specials or entire spinoff shows to give viewers more Invincible. Season 2, episode 3 of Invincible has already set up an Allen the Alien spinoff, allowing Amazon and the creators to cash in on the character's popularity. Seth Rogen's involvement with Invincible makes the project even more likely as he voices Allen. Using the tools at their disposal, Invincible can still make having regular midseason breaks work, so long as the series finds a way to appease fans in the process.