Netflix unveils The Binge Scale to show the most devoured and savored shows

Netflix members around the world are making their own rules when it comes to watching TV. Instead of one episode per week, Netflix members choose to binge watch their way through a series - that is, on average, finishing an entire season in one week.

Though binge watching is clearly the new normal, not all series are enjoyed the same way. Today Netflix unveils The Binge Scale, revealing which shows we devour and which we savor.

Netflix examined global viewing* of more than 100 serialized TV series across more than 190 countries and found when members are focused on finishing a series, they watch a little over two hours a day to complete a season. When organizing series in relation to this benchmark, interesting patterns emerge, ranging from high energy narratives that are devoured to thought-provoking dramas that are savored.

Series like Sense8 and The 100 grab you, assault your senses, and as The Binge Scale shows, make it hard to pull away. The classic elements of horror and thrillers go straight for the gut, pushing the placement of series like The Walking Dead, American Horror Story and The Fall towards the devour end of the scale. Likewise, comedies with a dramatic bent, like Orange is the New Black, Nurse Jackie and Grace and Frankie, seem to tickle our fancy and make it easy to say “just one more.”

It's no surprise that complex narratives, like that of House of Cards and Bloodline, are indulged at an unhurried pace. Nor that viewers take care to appreciate the details of dramas set in bygone eras, like Peaky Blinders and Mad Men. Maybe less obvious are irreverent comedies like BoJack Horseman, Love and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. But the societal commentary that powers their densely layered comedy paired with characters that are as flawed as they are entertaining allow them to be savored.

"As The Binge Scale indicates, the viewing experience of a series can range from the emotional to the thought-provoking," said Cindy Holland, vice president of original content at Netflix. "Netflix helps you to find a series to binge no matter your mood or occasion, and the freedom to watch that series at your own pace - whether that's to appreciate the drama of Bloodline or power through Orange is the New Black."

THE NETFLIX BINGE SCALE (Based on global viewing data)

SAVOR

• Irreverent Comedies
  • Arrested Development, BoJack Horseman, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Love, F is for Family, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
• Political Dramas
  • House of Cards, Occupied, The West Wing
• Historical Dramas
  • Mad Men, Narcos, Peaky Blinders
• Superhero Drama
  • Gotham, Marvel's Daredevil, Marvel's Jessica Jones, The Flash
• Crime Dramas
  • Better Call Saul, Bloodline, The Blacklist, Twin Peaks
• Dramatic Comedies
  • Flaked, Grace & Frankie, Nurse Jackie, Orange is the New Black, Parenthood, Weeds
• Action & Adventure
  • Arrow, Marco Polo, Prison Break, Turn
• Sci-Fi
  • Ascension, Between, Heroes, Sense8, The 100, The 4400
• Horror
  • American Horror Story, Hemlock Grove, Scream, The Walking Dead, Z Nation
• Thriller
  • Bates Motel, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, The Fall, The Following, The Killing

DEVOUR

*METHODOLOGY 
Netflix analyzed more than 100 serialized TV series across more than 190 countries between October 2015and May 2016. The research examined member completion of the first season for all series. Data was only included for accounts that fully completed the season. Completion rates were organized into days and hours. The global median days to complete the first season of these series was five days. The median hours per session for completers overall was two hours and ten minutes. Series viewed less than two hours per day were identified as 'savored.' Series viewed more than two hours per day were identified as 'devoured.' Series were not restricted by launch dates, runtime or number of episodes. Where a series falls on The Netflix Binge Scale has no relation to viewership.

A half century together, at home and at work

Jerry Maushard laughs when he talks about the time he met Sam Walton and was offered a job that would have put him on the ground floor of the Walmart chain. He evens chuckles when he talks about the fortune that got away when he turned down that job.

But he also is the first to admit he would not trade the riches he has right here in his hometown of Peoria  for any of what the Waltons had to offer nearly half a century ago.

That includes spending all day, every day – literally -- of the last 45 years with love of his life, Janie.

“Side by side for more than 40 years, every day,” said Jerry from the business he and Janie own, Central Fixture in Peoria. The store, which sells about every kind of lighting fixture one can imagine from its location at 215. W. McClure, has been in the Maushard family since Jerry’s grandfather Joe Maushard opened it in 1898.

Jerry and Janie Maushard celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 4. That alone is a wonderful thing, but it is even more remarkable given they have worked side-by-side almost every day  since Jerry was lured back home by his father to take over the family business in 1971. “We’d just bought a home in Denver when Dad called and asked me to come back. Well, we did. And I don’t regret one minute of it,” Jerry said.

Jerry and Janie met in Wichita, Kansas, her hometown, in 1965. Janie was working at a variety store called TG&Y when a man in a suit walked in carrying a briefcase “and strutting like he really thought he was something. At least that was my first impression on him. He announced he was the new manager of the store and I just didn’t know if I was going to like him very much. Well, after I got to know him I saw he wasn’t really like that,” she said.

After they’d been working together for a year Jerry finally asked Janie for a date. Well, sort of. The way he tells it: “I realized I wasn’t getting any younger and so I looked at her and said, ‘You know, I need a wife. Want to go out?’”

They were married six months later.

From there they moved quite a bit as TG&Y – which Janie said everybody referred to as Turtles, Girdles and YoYos – had Jerry open new stores throughout the region around Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

It was at the store in Sapula, Oklahoma that he met Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. “He came in and introduced himself and offered me a job in management. He knew quite a bit about me, even how much I was making. I told him I needed to think about it and discuss it with my wife. He said that was fine, that he’d come back. And he did, about two weeks later. But I declined the offer. We had a good thing with TG&Y, which of course isn’t around anymore,” Jerry said.

It was the late 1960s then, shortly before Jerry and Janie moved to Denver. At the time Sam Walton couldn’t pay his managers annual bonuses and instead gave them shares of stock. Since then, of course, Walmart became publicly traded and those early shares of stock are worth millions.

The return to Peoria for Jerry meant coming home. For Janie, it was just another move at that time. “Wichita was where I grew up but we moved six months after we were married and moved quite a bit until we came to Peoria. But I love it here. This is home,” she said.

When Jerry first started at Central Fixture it was located on Main Street, near the intersection with Glen Oak. The store burned down in 1975 because of an electrical problem and was reopened in only a matters of months at the current location. It was then that Janie started working there full-time.

“I came to help get the store up and running after the fire. I never left,” she said.

Said Jerry, “Oh sometimes we fuss at each other when we disagree about something, but we don’t fight. And a lot of times the fussing is just in fun.”

At the end of the day, they go home together. “When we go home, if he’s been good all day I’ll make dinner for him,” Janie said with a laugh. “Other than that, we do our own thing at home. That may be in separate rooms. But we get along just fine.”

Jerry said one thing that has helped has been their ability to get away from work and home pressures to a “small place on a lake” that they own in northern Wisconsin. “We’ve had it for 28 years and it has been a nice place to go and get away,” he said.

Added Janie: “We’re pretty simple and our place up there is like that. We enjoy the four seasons so it’s a nice place to see that,” she said.

Jerry is 77 and Janie is 69, but they have no immediate plans to retire. Daughter Barbara lives in Connecticut and works in New York City as head of the television division for the Hearst. Son Jerry works for Central Fixture, the fourth generation in the family business.

“My Dad worked here into his late 80s and after that we’d bring him in with us. He was our ambassador. He lived until he was 98. I haven’t had sense enough to retire, or at least my wife won’t let me, so I figure we’ll be here as long as our health will let us,” Jerry said.

“Life has been pretty good to us.”

Generation Z is entering the workforce

The first waves of young people born from 1995 through 2010, aka "Generation Z", are in the process of leaving school for the labor market.

This demographic accounts for 25 percent of the total population, and with the upcoming influx of Generation Z employees, coupled with Baby Boomers' retirements, the American workforce is growing demonstrably younger.

According to a new CareerCast report some of the best jobs for Generation Z are positions that tie directly into the needs of this younger demographic.

Organizations need an understanding of this growing consumer base to succeed in the years to come. Opportunities for Market Research Analysts will grow, corresponding with the push to market to the growing Generation Z consumer base. Other hot careers with high-growth options are Statistician (+34%), Financial Planner (+30%) and Interpreter/Translator (29%).

In addition, Generation Z workers have been exposed to technology from birth, unlike baby boomers, many of whom were born pre-Internet and pre-cell phone. This innate facility with technology lends itself well to professions such as Computer and Information Systems Analyst, Information Security Analyst, and Software Developer.

Financial institutions rank among the most prolific hirers of new college graduates, and degrees in finance rank among the most popular degrees that American students have received in the last three years, per the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

"Generation Z is focused on avoiding debt and that's where Financial Planners come in," says Kyle Kensing, online content editor for CareerCast.

"With the average retirement age expected to push 70 by 2050, early planning and smart savings strategies are paramount for the new generation, starting from the outset of their careers," he said.

The following are 10 of the best jobs for Generation Z as identified by CareerCast.

Travel deals expected to be good this summer

Memorial Day kicked off the start of the summer travel season and Travelzoo, a publisher of travel deals, predicts Americans will see the best travel offers in years this summer.

The combination of low oil prices, a strong dollar, cheaper airfares and the impact of global events such as the Zika virus and instability in Europe, means Americans can expect to spend up to 40 percent less than last year on summer vacations.

Travelzoo's staff in the U.S. sees five trends in the market:

1.   Lower Airfares
Travelers are seeing the lowest flight prices in seven years. Prices have declined 12 percent from 2015 and more than 20 percent from two years ago. Lower oil prices have decreased airline-operating costs, while major carriers have dropped fares to compete with budget carriers that are adding more routes.

2.   International Impact of Strong Dollar
The strong dollar means Americans can spend less to travel internationally. According to the National Trade and Tourism Office, U.S. outbound travel in January 2016 (the most recent data available) rose 9 percent year over year.

In January 2016, American travel to Canada increased 19 percent year over year. With the Canadian dollar trading at US$0.76, Americans effectively get a 24 percent discount on everything, including hotel stays, meals and activities, when they cross the northern border.

The strong dollar is also translating into deals across the pond. There is more pressure on international destinations to lure U.S. travelers with deals as many Americans will travel domestically this summer. A Travelzoo survey conducted in early April found that 80 percent of respondents are foregoing plans to travel abroad and are instead considering destinations within the U.S. Hotels in cities like Paris and London are offering deals as a means to incentivize travelers to rethink their plans.

3.   More Deals inEurope
The recent wave of terror attacks in Paris, Brussels and Turkey has also impacted tourism in the region. Hotel consultancy MKG Hospitality reported that Paris occupancy rates in April were down 11 percent year over year, with 30 percent of the city's rooms left vacant. Hotels and tourism boards are trying to entice tourists with lower rates and other incentives. In France, the state railway operator, SNCF, is offering discounted tickets on its trains while hotels are offering discounts of up to 30 percent. In Turkey, meanwhile, prices are down by more than 40 percent with 5-star hotel rooms available for less than US$50.

4.   Increased Availability ofCaribbeanand Mexico Vacations
Travelers are rethinking their plans in the wake of the Zika virus, and that has impacted tourism in the Caribbean and Mexico. A February Travelzoo poll found that 30 percent of travelers were changing their plans to avoid Zika-impacted destinations. Many hotels, resorts, vacation packagers and cruise lines are offering steep discounts in an effort to overcome the Zika stigma.

Summer is always a time when Travelzoo staff see bargains to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America but this year, we are seeing especially strong offers, especially in more posh islands like Anguilla, where we don't typically find deals.

5.   Lower Prices and Stronger Demand forAsia
Lower airfares are translating into savings for vacations of more than 35 percent in Asia and Australia.China vacation prices are some of the lowest we've seen in years. You can go on an eight-night escorted vacation to China, including breakfast and air, for under $850. That was unheard of until recently.

Travelzoo is a global media commerce company. With more than 28 million members inAsia Pacific,Europe andNorth Americaand 25 offices worldwide, Travelzoo® publishes offers from more than 2,000 travel, entertainment and local companies. Travelzoo's deal experts review offers to find the best deals and confirm their true value.