The first season for free for many network shows has been going on for years and years. They're trying to get you hooked and then pay for the production X upgrade (Starz, SHOWtime... etc.)
I am actually still totally blown away I can't watch at minimum the first episode of every TV show on any given app or streaming service for free. The format absolutely begs to use the early episodes to hook viewers so that you can charge them to continue/finish the show.
I'm a big Vudu user, which used to have a much wider variety of temporary deals for first episodes for free, but any time I look at a show and see the first episode is $1.99, I'm just... confused, like the folks making those decisions missed Marketing 101.
