Let's Complain About Netflix

[Wes Mantooth]

I just wanted to air a gripe I have about Netflix. I see a lot of the usual complaints like: They cancel shows early, Their movies suck, Their prices keep going up, etc.

But I wanted to focus on one thing in particular: How long they take to produce content, or how little they put out over a period of time.

The peferct example of this is Stranger Things...

-Stranger Things first aired in July of 2016. They produced a whopping 8 episodes. They took 1 year and 3 months to start the 2nd season, which consisted of a total of 9 episodes. Then they took 1 year and 9 months to air the 3rd season, which consisted of 8 episodes. And now almost 2 years later we still haven't seen Season 4.

Stranger Things, to date, has produced 27 episodes in 4 years 10 months. By comparison, a show like the X-Files produced 24 or 25 shows every single year during their intial run. Netflix is taking nearly 5x as long to produce episodes at the same output.

Making this all the worse is that of course most of us binge watch these shows. So you watch the entire thing in a day or two, then you have to wait well over a year for more content.

And if you think this is just a Stranger Things issue it's not. Lucifer, which was initially produced by Fox, produced 57 episodes of the show over a 2 year and 4 month period. Netflix has only produced 26 episodes over 2 years.

Another example: The Last Kingdom. Netflix aired their first production of this show in November 2018, which was for 10 episodes. Then they took another year and half to air another 10. As it stands, they've produced only 20 episodes in over 3 years, and that's going to grow. A similar show like Vikings, which was produced by the History averaged about 10 shows every 9 months (90 episodes over 7.5 years).

Even Game of Thrones, a show worth an enormous budget, with a huge cast and multiple sets, produced 73 episodes over 8 years. You could count on 10 new Game of Thrones episodes every single year around the same time up until the last season.

I'm probably boring everyone to death here, and I'm probably didn't need all of these numbers to make this point. But it's absolutely crazy to me how long Netflix takes to produce content. We get shortened seasons and longer waits. It just makes no sense to me.

How hard is it to have a new season of show air every year at the same time? Especially when you're churning out like half the amount of episodes. Network and Cable TV have managed to do this for eternity yet you can't.

Netflix, please fix this. I completely lose interest in these shows. IMHO they've absolutely ruined Stranger Things which started out as pretty decent show. These damn kids are going to have mustaches in the 8th grade at this rate.

Note: I understand the pandemic has affected production. But this isn't really about this. Their scheduling and release dates were already an absolutely mess before this even became an issue.

[HarleyDog]

You do know they only do that to piss you off don’t you?

[BengalsRocker]

(05-09-2021, 02:24 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: You do know they only do that to piss you off don’t you?

Yes and for every pissed off viewer on the verge of giving up, there is one frothing in anticipation from the wait.

I stopped watching The Walking Dead & Fear The Walking Dead seasons ago.

They ran those two shows into the ground(piss poor writing, bad directing)and spread them out.  How the hell anyone is still watching that crap is beyond me.

As far as Wes and Netflix.  Yes they suck at adding content and the rate of production/released.

I really don't give a damn about Stranger Things at this point. 

It was great vibe and such to begin with but seasons stretched way too far apart with low amounts of episodes.

[Wes Mantooth]

(05-09-2021, 02:36 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I really don't give a damn about Stranger Things at this point. 

It was great vibe and such to begin with but seasons stretched way too far apart with low amounts of episodes.

I'm in the same boat.  I really liked season 1, and I was into season 2 as well.  By the time they got to season 3 (2 years later) I had all but forgotten about the show and it's plot.  I'm not sure I'll even watch season 4.

My favorite show on Netflix is The Last Kingdom and the wait is just too long.  Same with Ozark.  A near 2 year wait for season 3 and 10 episodes.  Thought I was really going to get into the Witcher, but it appears to be on the same type of schedule.  I'll have to rewatch it just to remember where it left off.

They even suck at animation.  LOVED "F is for Family".  Took them years and years and years to equal the output that the Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad do in a single year.

I just don't get it.

[Wes Mantooth]

(05-09-2021, 02:24 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: You do know they only do that to piss you off don’t you?

You know, you're not wrong.  I'm going to write them an angry letter.

[HarleyDog]

(05-09-2021, 03:01 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: You know, you're not wrong.  I'm going to write them an angry letter.

Pee on it before you mail it. If sending email, I don’t suggest peeing on it before sending. 

[HarleyDog]

(05-09-2021, 02:36 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Yes and for every pissed off viewer on the verge of giving up, there is one frothing in anticipation from the wait.

I stopped watching The Walking Dead & Fear The Walking Dead seasons ago.

They ran those two shows into the ground(piss poor writing, bad directing)and spread them out.  How the hell anyone is still watching that crap is beyond me.

As far as Wes and Netflix.  Yes they suck at adding content and the rate of production/released.

I really don't give a damn about Stranger Things at this point. 

It was great vibe and such to begin with but seasons stretched way too far apart with low amounts of episodes.

I just started watching walking dead. I’m at the point where their living in the prison. Think I will just go ahead and stop now.

[BengalsRocker]

(05-09-2021, 06:08 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I just started watching walking dead. I’m at the point where their living in the prison. Think I will just go ahead and stop now.

Fear The Walking Dead started slow but got better by the 2nd season. 

It wasn't as campy that Walking Dead became.

Then it just got worse when they crossed over a character(Morgan)from The Walking Dead.

Both shows are just pure shit now.

I'm "zombied out" by now anyway.

[HarleyDog]

(05-09-2021, 06:12 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: Fear The Walking Dead started slow but got better by the 2nd season. 

It wasn't as campy that Walking Dead became.

Then it just got worse when they crossed over a character(Morgan)from The Walking Dead.

Both shows are just pure shit now.

I'm "zombied out" by now anyway.

Good to know. No reason to proceed with the show. Thanks for keeping me from becoming a dead man watching.

[SunsetBengal]

The problem with stream services producing original content is that anytime something is good, with decent actors that play strong characters, another production outfit upbids them for their talent's services.

[HarleyDog]

(05-09-2021, 06:24 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: The problem with stream services producing original content is that anytime something is good, with decent actors that play strong characters, another production outfit upbids them for their talent's services.

Sounds like porn hub. Not that I watch it or anything.

[SunsetBengal]

(05-09-2021, 06:37 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Sounds like porn hub. Not that I watch it or anything.

Oh yeah, I used to be big fan of the "romance" films..  

[MileHighGrowler]

I would agree with this being somewhat ridiculous and definitely frustrating. I only have so long of an attention span to begin with for shows, and if they drag out really long between seasons I just completely lose interest. For Stranger Things, I didn't even finish season 3. I just didn't care any more. The first season and second season I couldn't wait to get to each new episode.

I've been a lot more impressed with Disney+ in this regard compared to other streaming services. The amount of new content coming out rapidly is pretty amazing. But they've been in the business of content creation for a whole lot longer than Netflix or Hulu or Amazon, too.

It is funny though how we've got all of these instant-gratification services like Netflix and it's served to make us even more impatient than we were before. Definitely says something about how we adapt and become dependent!

[*jason*]

(05-09-2021, 06:37 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Sounds like porn hub. Not that I watch it or anything.

What's that?

[HarleyDog]

(05-10-2021, 08:00 PM)jason Wrote: What's that?

Its a hub (location) where trees gather to pollinate or some shit. Saw it on the nature channel I think. IDK? Probably shouldn't be speaking on things I don't know much about.

[*jason*]

(05-10-2021, 08:04 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Its a hub (location) where trees gather to pollinate or some shit. Saw it on the nature channel I think. IDK? Probably shouldn't be speaking on things I don't know much about.

Yeah... I think my stepmom and stepsister are really into that.

[XenoMorph]

problem is mainly the need for instant gratification and how they drop content..

They drop a 10 episode season all at once and you are done in a weekend waiting a Year + for more..


You wont see many 25+ episode seasons anymore... People dont have the attention span for it.

[*Synric*]

I've been waiting for the 3rd book in Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicles series for a decade.

[Wes Mantooth]

(05-11-2021, 11:26 AM)XenoMorph Wrote: problem is mainly the need for instant gratification and how they drop content..

They drop a 10 episode season all at once and you are done in a weekend waiting a Year + for more..


You wont see many 25+ episode seasons anymore... People dont have the attention span for it.

Fwiw, my gripe isn't really just the shortened season.  I'm ok with 10 episodes vs 20+.  My issue is that they routinely take 18+ months to release those 10 episodes.

If Networks could release 20+ epsidoes seasons each and every 12 months then Netflix should have no problem releasing 10 epsiodes every 12 months.

I lose interest in a lot of those shows, and completely forget the plot.  It just doesn't make sense to me take 22 months to produce 8 episodes of Stranger Things, or 19 months to produce 10 episodes of Ozark, or 17 months to produce 10 episodes of The Last Kingdom.

[XenoMorph]

(05-11-2021, 11:47 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Fwiw, my gripe isn't really just the shortened season.  I'm ok with 10 episodes vs 20+.  My issue is that they routinely take 18+ months to release those 10 episodes.

If Networks could release 20+ epsidoes seasons each and every 12 months then Netflix should have no problem releasing 10 epsiodes every 12 months.

I lose interest in a lot of those shows, and completely forget the plot.  It just doesn't make sense to me take 22 months to produce 8 episodes of Stranger Things, or 19 months to produce 10 episodes of Ozark, or 17 months to produce 10 episodes of The Last Kingdom.

right now the "pandemic" has made filming things a nightmare....   

you also have to consider actors schedules and things.

but i am a patient person.. Just waiting for my Book 6

Speaking of the Last Kingdom im playing AC: valhalla... Working my way to Wessex now about to take Lunden