Seasons 1-4 of the sopranos came out 1 year apart, with 2 years between 4-5 and 5-6, with another year for the second half of 6. And each of those seasons was 13 episodes long, except 6 which was 12 + 9. 86 episodes over 8 years.

Stranger Things by comparison, was a 1 year gap, then 2, then 3, then 3 again. And each of those seasons were 8 or 9 episodes. 42 episodes over 9 years. Half as many episodes with an extra year.

I’m also not against filler episodes - They’re used to flesh out the world and the characters, as well as giving the writers and actors time to find their groove and figure out how to write/play those characters; Think of how many shows only get good after the first season. Modern shows frequently get cancelled before they’re able to find that. Filler episodes also used to give junior writers more experience.