The 4th season requires an interval long enough and a deep study of the feedback and behavior of viewers.
House of Cards for example, is actually a remake of a British original, however the Netflix guys made a careful study and a data research before creating it. They found out that the US fans of the British original liked Kevin Spacey for instance, and that they binged downloaded episodes, rather than wait for aired ones. I think this is what differentiates Netflix from a regular network. They use data in order to create the content, and not just in order to market and distribute it. So I don't believe that Netflix would like to see a winding down of viewers in a gradual process, but rather hit the fans with a surprise where they least expect it, which is why I think season 4 would either be a spinoff, a 90's leap in time into the future, or a year zero.
House of Cards for example, is actually a remake of a British original, however the Netflix guys made a careful study and a data research before creating it. They found out that the US fans of the British original liked Kevin Spacey for instance, and that they binged downloaded episodes, rather than wait for aired ones. I think this is what differentiates Netflix from a regular network. They use data in order to create the content, and not just in order to market and distribute it. So I don't believe that Netflix would like to see a winding down of viewers in a gradual process, but rather hit the fans with a surprise where they least expect it, which is why I think season 4 would either be a spinoff, a 90's leap in time into the future, or a year zero.