I noticed Netflix had seasons of USA's Dead Zone on Watch Instantly so I decided to give it a try. I like the premise and the acting is pretty good, but I get the sense that it's very much case of the week coupled with his acclimation back into the real world and the life of his love.

Without spoilers, does the series break this formula or expand on it? If there is a bigger mythology or more character centric development I think I'd like to stick with it. However, if it sticks to the same formula I think I'm good with stopping at the handful I already watched.

They flirt with a bigger mythology at various points in the series, but they can't ever seem to decide what they want to do with it and wind up with three or four different big mythologies over the course of the show (not really contradicting each other, but none of them really having any sort of pay-off). It's a decent enough "case of the week" show whose characters develop over the course of the 5(?) seasons, but don't go into it expecting some larger cohessive story arc.

Does it end with a cliff-hanger or does the last episode resolve anything?

The season one finale if I remember correctly is the beginning of the mythology. There are about three different sets of writers that noticeably augment the show yet don't completely run of the rails with the mythology like say the X-Files did. The series finale and other episodes in the last season do have some good closure. This thread makes me want to revisit this show. I wish it would get released on Blu-ray.

IIRC though there isn't a good wrap up of everything and they leave some significant threads hanging. That said, overall I still really enjoyed the show and would recommend it.

Maybe it's just best to watch a subset of episodes? Is there list that highlights the key plot/mythology episodes? I suppose similiar to the sets that the X-Files put out on DVD?

The last two season were pretty bad...I don't think I made it through the final one (after breezing through Season 1 and 2 on DVD in the course of a few days).

Both. No cliffhanger, and some resolution - but not everything you would have hoped for. I think the first 3 or 4 seasons of this show were top-notch. The last couple were only so-so. USA went back and forth a few years with wanting shows to be stand-alone, and I think that's where the series lost some of it's steam. Plus, they ticked fans off in the later years by killing off a couple of the best characters/actors they had (I won't spoil).

Still, all in all, it's a series I highly recommend. I reviewed the first two season sets for DVD Talk, so feel free to check those out for more info about the show.