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All the Shows Leaving Netflix

Netflix is a streaming platform that, with a subscription, provides access to thousands of movies and TV shows instantaneously. However, this was not always how Netflix worked. 

From a small start up DVD rental place, to a 289 billion dollar company,  Netflix has seen its strides. Founded in 1997 they found a new way to offer movie rentals over the internet, but it wasn’t until 1998 that their website, Netflix.com, was created.

In 2000, the company added an option for users to subscribe, offering the customer unlimited DVD rentals at a monthly rate. Eventually, it became the multimedia platform we all know and love today when it added a recommendation system based on reviews they got.  The company slowly grew, reaching around four million users in 2005. It partnered with electronic companies to get Netflix on smart TVs and gaming consoles in 2009. After gaining access to Europe in 2012, things began to change when Netflix released its first original show Lilyhammer followed by House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

Orange is the New Black title photo | Courtesy of The Guardian

However, its popularity brings equal criticism as the company receives a multitude of complaints about the shows they remove. By the end of 2021, dozens of shows will no longer be available to watch on Netflix including shows and movies like School of Rock, Spy Kids, The Strangers, and all six seasons of Glee. In the past this has happened with very popular shows like Full House and  The Office. 

“So many people watched [The Office],” MC freshman Sarah Strauss said, “The last week that the office was on Netflix, it went into the top ten. So many people on Netflix liked it and they would benefit from The Office still being on there,” Strauss said. 

Netflix is usually the company that takes the blame for certain shows no longer being available to stream. However, it is almost never the companies fault,  no matter how much they may be blamed.  Other than shows and movies released specifically for a holiday of season, one of the main reasons shows and movies cease to exist on Netflix is because most of the shows they stream do not actually belong to the company. Netflix streams them through licensing deals with companies like ABC, NBC, and Disney. Other shows are taken off streaming services due to licensing issues. For example, Fox-owned hit drama Glee left in November of 2021.

“Glee was a captivating show that was full of surprises and drama.  It really occupied me during quarantine and it’s a shame that they are taking it off Netflix,” Reagan Fenter, a Poway High School Freshman said. 

Glee title photo | Courtesy of Fox

To compensate for the shows leaving Netflix every month, the company is constantly adding new shows. 

“I’m excited for what they decide to add in place of [Glee]!” Fenter said.

Within the next month, Netflix plans to release dozens of new shows seasons and movies like the fourth season of Cobra Kai, season six of Queer Eye, and several releases of Money Heist. These along with many others will be available for streaming on this beloved platform in December.

Written by Julia Yates

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