Something like Extras lasts for only 7 1/2 hours, right? But The Pacific is gonna be 10 or 11 hours. Yet The Pacific counts as a mini-series while Extras has two seasons and a movie. Strange.
I don't think the term mini-series is used all that much in British TV. It's only when those shows (e.g.
Prime Suspect) get imported to North American TV do they get called a mini-series. But something like
The Pacific is American made and is a format separate from regular dramas that are created with the hope that they'll run for a long time, so the format is called a mini-series.
Can anyone explain to me what the difference is between Series and Season?
In American TV series refers to the program title, so
Curb Your Enthusiasm,
Seinfeld, or
The West Wing would be examples of series. Season in American TV would be the separate cycles of production, which usually runs from the fall to the spring. In UK TV they call a cycle of production a series. The hope with American TV is that the show will get strong enough ratings and the network will keep ordering new seasons, while UK TV tends to do a limited number of series (my observation anyway, others might know to the contrary).