Throughout these weeks of lockdown I'm sure most of us have been binge-watching Netflix, box sets and various mini-series.

My current TV addiction starts every evening at around 6pm and a single episode can run for up to two hours.

It's full of drama, conflict and plot twists. It's Donald Trump's daily media briefing.

I may soon have to find a new series however, amid reports that this hit TV show could be axed.

Not long after taking office in 2017, the Trump administration abandoned traditional press conferences.

Under previous presidents, the White House Press Secretary would give daily, on-camera updates to the media, with even POTUS himself making appearances in the briefing room.

Donald Trump changed all that.No more formal briefings but lots of impromptu 'press gaggles', where the president stops and talks to journalists on his way to or from engagements.

Often times this would take place in the White House South Lawn before MrTrump boarded his chopper, Marine One.

This had its advantages.The 'gaggle'would sometimes last for up to 40 minutes with the president taking questions from all the journalists present.

There were also major disadvantages.At times of controversy Mr Trump could ignore questions, claiming not to be able to hear over the roar of the helicopter, or he could just skip the entire thing altogether and walk past the journalists with a wave.

The White House would dismiss criticism over the lack of press briefings by pointing to these regular gaggles as evidence of a transparent, accessible presidency.

Mr Trump, who had rarely darkened the door of the James S Brady Briefing Room, began making nightly appearances at the podium when the coronavirus outbreak began.

At the start, the president would give Covid-19 updates but the press conferences quickly evolved into something else.

In the absence of any public gatherings because of the lockdown, Mr Trump has frequently used his daily briefings as campaign rallies.

He promotes his own handling of the crisis and has even played campaign-style videos inside the briefing room.

As the president frequently points out, his appearances are getting big TV ratings and this has given hima major advantage over his rival Joe Biden who has no such platform.

Early in the coronavirus crisis, MrTrump saw an increase in his approval ratings and a majority of Americans were happy with his handlingof the outbreak.

In recent weeks however, his poll numbers have slipped and Joe Biden is predicted to beat him in many key states.

The power of the press briefing has waned and the president has no one to blame but himself.

On some days, there hasn't been any new coronavirus information to provide but the media conferences have been held anyway just to give Mr Trump some prime-time TV coverage.

In the absence of updates on the virus, he frequently goes off script and embarks on ramblingrants.

He attacks journalists, governors and Democrats.

He also offers his own views on treatments and cures, something which has led to controversy.

On Thursday night, he asked his scientists to explore if heat, light and disinfectants could be applied to the human body to treat the virus.

It led to an outcry with medical experts urging people to ignore Mr Trump and it even prompted the company that makes Dettol to issue a statement warning the public not to inject its products.

Donald Trump claimed he was being sarcastic and blamed the "fake news media" but the damage was done.

Would this mark the end of the daily press briefing?Would this be the moment that the TV execs decided not to commission a second season?

The news website Axios has reported that the White House is planning to scale back the media conferences with fewer and shorter appearances by the president.

According to the article, Mr Trump's advisers have told him the briefings are hurting his poll numbers, and "the spectacle of him fighting with the press isn't what people want to see".

If the briefings are to be wound down in the coming days, no doubt there is still plenty of drama and plot twists to come.

Every TV show goes out with a bang and who knows what this season finale will have in store.

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Season finale: Is this the end of the Trump show? - RTE.ie