A question

The stereotype is that 'Western' cultures tend to think of time linearly, progressing from the past to the future, whereas 'Eastern' cultures think of time as a circle, with the processes of life end death repeating endlessly, right?

 

So why is it that so many western TV series (as opposed to mini-series) are written so that the world of the show hardly changes from one episode to the next, that the overarching narrative of the series, if it exists at all, is secondary to the plot demands of a given episode (and the marketing exigencies of sweeps months) so that static characters exist in relatively static universes, repeating similar situations ad infinitum, while the emphasis in many Asian TV series is on the overall plot, such that many shows are almost like an extended mini-series, and stop broadcasting when the plotline has been completed?