As a fellow Brit: what you're saying definitely applies to US network TV shows, but really not to the vast majority of what Netflix does. I'm not actually sure Netflix has any shows with the 22-24 episode seasons you'd see on US sitcoms.
That's really the gap, I guess: They're benefitting from broadcast networks letting shows run 100+ episodes, but not creating additional shows with more than 16-20 episodes. It seems reductive.