Netflix Is Killing TV Shows

Today, a random viewer looking for something new to watch casually scrolls through Netflix's Top 10 and picks whatever catches their eye. Therein lies the problem: many consumers now select their TV shows based on one of three factors — is it trending, are there any popular actors or actresses in it, and how bored am I?

This is slowly killing TV show culture.

Once upon a time, to watch a TV show, you had to stumble on a random episode on cable — think DSTV or GoTV — enjoy the said episode, and that would send you down the rabbit hole, searching for every single episode and bingeing till the end. Or, if you are an older Nigerian, you had to buy CDs from that one shop you trusted to always have the best recommendations. The point is that the joy of searching for something new has been killed by the simple ability to scroll through Top 10 Shows Today and just...pick one. 

Another joy Netflix has taken away from its consumers is the thrill of binge-watching— or at least what binge-watching used to feel like. One could define binge-watching as the practice of watching multiple episodes of a TV show in rapid succession, typically using DVDs or digital streaming. By this definition, Netflix’s format of releasing eight-episode seasons at once seems to promote this culture. Which it does, but it also ruins and flattens the experience. Before Netflix, there were only a few ways to binge-watch: One, watch an old, completed series. Two, save up the episodes of an ongoing show while somehow avoiding spoilers from everyone around you so that when the final episode drops, you can finally watch the whole show in a go. This taught delayed gratification. Netflix has stripped today’s viewers of that. When every episode is instantly available, there's no tension, no anticipation, no shared countdown. Viewers rush through shows like chores, driven more by habit than hunger. 

Cliffhangers are another casualty. 

Imagine you are watching an action thriller. The antagonist is about to pull the trigger on the main character’s love interest—then boom, the credits roll. Now, you're bracing yourself for a long wait for the next season. Netflix kills the anticipation that once made TV shows thrive. That edge-of-your-seat tune in next week feeling? It doesn't exist anymore. These days, by the time the next season drops, you've probably changed jobs, grown a beard, or even forgotten the plot entirely. 

Unless you are a true TV show connoisseur, you probably don't know all the gems that exist outside of Netflix. Even within Netflix, many shows go unnoticed because they aren't trending or hyped. While other streaming platforms exist and most follow a similar format, Netflix is considered to have set the standard.

Here are a few gems NOT ON  Netflix for you to check out: Mobland, The Studio, See, Shrinking, and Paradise. 

What do you think?

Olajide Olamide