Saving TV shows helped Arrested Development. The award-winning series had been a critics' darling on Fox but its perpetually low ratings led it to be cancelled. Netflix picking the show up was seen as a power move, proof that they could do what the traditional networks couldn't or wouldn't. Seven years later, things have changed drastically.
Over the years since that original programming launch, Netflix garnered a reputation for being a home for shows that never got their due on network TV. They picked up You, with the latter becoming a minor phenomenon thanks to the streaming service. It’s a great marketing tactic to TV lovers – Netflix will give underappreciated shows the attention they deserve. Unfortunately, it’s a concept they haven’t been applying to their own original series lately.
It was recently announced that Cartoon Network would be One Day At a Time, after its premature cancellation. Netflix has been criticized for the way it quickly ends shows mere weeks after their debut. Their much-vaunted algorithm and highly secretive viewership numbers are used to justify these choices but that only makes the process all the more aggravating.
Netflix has always sold itself on its sheer quantity of content. Literally dozens of new things to watch – from original movies, TV shows, and documentaries, to stand-up specials, and familiar titles – are added every month. As such, keeping on top of it all is nigh-on impossible. A lot of things slip through the cracks and never get their chance to shine. Stranger Things.
As viewing figures didn’t seem to matter to Netflix.
This puts an enormous amount of pressure on the fans of a show to get the word out days after a new season drops. When One Day at a Time season 3 released, the showrunners let people know that cancellation was a real risk, so people rushed to rewatch the series or just have it on in the background to get its numbers up. Not everyone has time to drop everything and watch dozens of episodes of a series just to save it. Netflix thrives on the binge-watch and implicitly encourages its subscribers to let episodes build up for those marathon viewings. It’s a big selling point but one that feels at odds with their willingness to cancel a show less than a month after it drops.
Network television may have its issues but at least it gives shows some room to breathe and find their audience. It’s ironic that the old ways have now come to bite Netflix hard, but as long as they are beholden to their near-mythic algorithm, these curiosities will continue. It’s a shame that Netflix has now evolved into the beast it once saved those under-appreciated shows from, but perhaps that is an inevitable side-effect of its staggering growth.