TL:DR: In my opinion S11 on MAX is when the show “shifts”

First time poster here, I’m 19 and have been watching the show since I was a little kid when I saw that D merged with HBO Max I was super excited to go on a nostalgia trip and watch the whole series, I joined this sub when I was trying to figure out where s10 went and stumbled upon a lot of discussion on when the show turned into a “show” if that makes sense. Here’s my analysis of when it clicked that a “shift” happened. (I haven’t watched every episode on MAX yet, wanted to post while this was fresh in my mind) So while I was watching I was waiting to feel a shift in the show and I think I found when this happened, S1-2 it’s strictly Zak, Nick, and Aaron doing investigations, S3 is the first time we see Billy do EVP analysis as a guest (feel free to mention the exact episode in the comments because I don’t remember specifically what episode rn), then in S4 billy starts going on select investigations with them (usually those that involve multiple locations or multiple people IE: Bill Chappel which is fine I enjoy billy in these seasons). Fast forward to the galka fam episode (great episode btw) this is the first time I remember seeing Jay (correct me if I’m wrong). Nothing particularly changes through S6-8 then season 9 rolls around and you can start seeing Jay and Billy take more expansive roles in the show and be more so investigators than just A/V techs, this is when I noticed a slight change, but FINALLY in S11 on MAX (so I’m assuming S9/10 on the actual show) this is where it happens. The most recent version of the intro comes in (obviously it still has Nick in it, but the intro format has not changed since at least S10 they just took Nick away since he left and Slotted Billy and jay in). This intro has way more of a Ghost hunter than documentary look than previous and obviously has more production value. Zak also becomes what he is today in this season, what do I mean by that? His Narrarations start becoming just a tad more over dramatic, his reactions are also starting to get that way as well. S11 EP 4 demonstrates this well, he also has to leave investigations to “cleanse” himself more as well IE: S11 EP 5. Overall I think what really caused this shift was they obviously got more production value from travel channel they showed more re-enactments and “b-roll” they also no longer showed themselves actually getting locked inside, and all of this combined I think changed the show into what we know today. Just to be clear I still love the show and am loving this season just wanted to share my perspective on the discussion