When Success Breeds Hunger for More

Normally, when something is successful, the powers that be are more likely to double down on it. One of the main questions in business is, "How does this move benefit the company?" otherwise known as "How does this make the company richer than it was yesterday?"

In the film industry, the MCU was the blueprint for a cinematic universe. In the Iron Man post-credit scene, Nick Fury told Tony Stark that he had just become part of a bigger universe. The first Iron Man's success was a great first step with a healthy box office and good reviews from the critics. Now, here we are 16 years later.

TV enters the Universe territory

In modern television, instead of the box office, success is measured by ratings.

When a show is successful, networks are likely to double down on their success.

When Greg Berlanti developed Arrow, nobody knew it would be successful to the point where it would be part of a bigger DC universe. The show was a very early success and introduced many popular DC characters over the course of it's run like Barry Allen and Ray Palmer, with plans for spin-offs (The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow). It was officially dubbed "the Arrowverse," which takes after the show that birthed the universe. The superhero genre was the CW's biggest money-maker during the 2010s and early part of the 2020s.

It ran for almost a decade.

A decade ago, nobody knew, including showrunner Courtney Kemp, that her show Power would lead to the birth of the Power Universe. Continuing stories from the series finale and telling stories from before the events of the flagship show.

It now houses three TV shows within the universe:

1. Power Book II: Ghost
2. Power Book III: Raising Kanan
3. Power Book IV: Force

Power became the biggest property on Starz and their money-maker. Their success paved the way for other shows like BMF and P-Valley to be developed at the network. They're very diverse-friendly compared to other networks.

Beware of fatigue

This is law in television but it also goes the same for product management.

Often, shows lose their luster after the first 3 or 4 seasons, and sometimes fans can feel the show showing some sort of fatigue or quality slow down. Products can lose their luster after years of success because the quality of the user/customer experience just isn't there anymore.

You have to keep it fresh and exciting enough for people to come back.