Netflix’s Purge Problem
It’s hard to commit to Netflix content when Netflix won’t…
While Netflix may be flailing a bit at the moment, I have a good amount of faith that they’ll figure it out. Largely just because they always have. They seem to be one of those “one step ahead” companies — one which from time-to-time misses a step and everyone freaks out because it’s so abnormal.
Anyway, I’ve previously talked about why I don’t think gaming is their solution — at least not fully nor any time soon. And why delving too far into “meh” content was likely a risk — spoiler: it was. But there’s something else rather obvious and simple that I think Netflix could do in the short term to fix some of what ails them. And that is: actually commit to their content.
Week after week I now load up Netflix and I’m sad. Not because there’s not enough content — there’s arguably way too much content, which creates a sort of hyper acute paradox of choice — but because there are so many shows which I’ve started on Netflix over the years which are now dormant. Not even gone, necessarily — though in some cases, see also: below — but just in a weird state of hibernation. They may wake up. Or not.
To me, the show which most epitomizes this is The World’s Most Extraordinary Homes. This home architecture porn-y design show ran on Netflix from 2017 to 2018. It was fantastic. After the second season aired, it never came back on. With no notice that it was cancelled. Just no new content. For years. Recently, the show was entirely removed from Netflix.
Another such show: Restaurants on the Edge. This show also ran for two seasons, from 2020 to 2021. Netflix is still touting it on their service (at least to me) but no mention of if and when new content is coming. I’m skeptical.
Both of these shows are a bit unique in that Netflix partnered with other content producers to either make or acquire the content. But that shouldn’t matter. Both are (or were) listed as Netflix Series. And both have now vanished ever so quietly into the night. Even if one of them shows up again eventually, we need some consistency from the schedule. In the olden days of TV, you knew your show was coming back each year. We can’t and don’t know that these days. Sometimes it’s two years. Sometimes it’s three years. Sometimes it’s never. How about never? Is never good for you?
Larry David can get away with this. Netflix cannot.
There are many other shows in this boat, of course. Netflix famously would give shows two seasons to find an audience and if not: sorry.
In some ways, that’s more generous than the old way of doing things: if a pilot didn’t work on a network, or an early run didn’t take off, a show wasn’t picked up. But Netflix changed things up by committing to full seasons of content ahead of time to feed their binge beasts, getting some people hooked on content that wouldn’t be long for this world. It’s annoying.
A couple months ago, in noting a survey suggesting Netflix was losing some long-term subscribers, Emma Roth wrote:
Here at The Verge, a number of my colleagues who’ve been with Netflix for years have already given up their Netflix subscriptions or are at least considering it. Although I’m (admittedly) spoiled and get to mooch off a shared Netflix subscription, I don’t find myself watching it that much anymore due to its selection of shows and movies, some of which I can just as easily find on other services I subscribe to, like Hulu and Peacock. Not to mention that it canceled Archive 81 — and yes, I’m still mad about it — which was actually one of the few shows I enjoyed watching on Netflix.
Worse, for us and for Netflix, it leads us to not put a lot of faith in the service or their programming. I’m currently more likely to commit to an HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, or Apple TV+ show which I bet will get more of a commitment from their service.
My recommendation to Netflix would be this: some content takes time to find an audience.¹ Sometimes you need to let it breathe a bit. Even if it seemingly isn’t working at first. Even if your data tells you it isn’t working. Sometimes things aren’t working until they suddenly start working.
And, I mean, Netflix should know this. It is now home to several shows that fit this bill. Breaking Bad was one of them. Cobra Kai is another. You is perhaps the best example. There are many others. These shows took a while to come into their own, but they were given room to maneuver beyond a two year time horizon and then exploded in popularity.²
Obviously Netflix can’t do this with all of their shows — which also speaks to the need to move from quantity content back to quality content. And I think the binge model exacerbates the issue both because people are more likely to get “hooked” on a show this way, but on the flipside, it gives a show less lead time to build up and find an audience. But they need someone making these calls.
It’s just a subtle yet huge cognitive load to commit to watching a Netflix Series knowing that it may all of a sudden cease to be. Why even start? I think this is something that a lot of people are starting to feel even if they don’t realize it. And I think it has damaged Netflix’s brand even if they don’t realize it because they can’t exactly measure it.
¹ As regular readers will know, I enjoy giving Netflix recommendations they aren’t asking for left and right. Sometimes they work out, see: below!
² As I often do, I’ll link to my post over 11 years ago when I laid out this general concept for Netflix.
