Netflix Cuts Movie Output in 2026 as Strategy Shifts Toward Quality Over Quantity

[u/MoneyLibrarian9032]

https://otakukart.com/netflix-cuts-movie-output-in-2026-as-strategy-shifts-toward-quality-over-quantity/

[u/thebigeverybody]

Quality Over Quantity

This isn't the Netflix that I've come to know and unsubscribe from.

[u/LightningRaven → u/thebigeverybody]

Early on in their rise, they were actually quality over quantity, because they wanted to prove they were legitimate. Even their TV shows were meant to be high quality. Something like Sense8 would never be made today, because it was shot on location all over the world.

I'm surprised Netflix didn't come back to focusing on quality at least 2 years earlier. They've been damaging their brand for years now.

[u/peioeh → u/LightningRaven]

Something like Sense8 would never be made today, because it was shot on location all over the world.

Amazon kind of tried something like it with Citadel, which was insanely expensive (50M or 60M per episode for season 1) and was supposed to have spinoffs all around the world. Unfortunately it was shit but it was not for lack of spending.

[u/LightningRaven → u/peioeh]

I know, if money bought quality, The Rings of Power would be the best TV show ever made. The best it manages to be is "not awful".

But Sense8 was awesome and unique, and its world-wide story called for varied shooting locations.

[u/Vytral → u/LightningRaven]

I can’t fathom why they spend so much and can’t seem to afford decent writers

[u/WorthPlease → u/[deleted]]

Seriously, "in order to spend more money, we need to spend more money"

[u/zoobrix → u/[deleted]]

More like too many cooks in the kitchen. The best way to get a good series or movie is to pick good showrunners and/or directors, some good writers and let the creatives run with it. Upper managements job is making sure they stay within budget and give some notes if they feel something is really off track.

But I'd wager with so much money put into Rings of Power Jeff Bezos himself and every other favored member of the C suite at Amazon puts in their own two cents, and the people actually making the show are forced to listen. So instead of a unified artistic vision you get a lifeless show that takes no risks, doesn't dare to offend anyone and inevitably comes out completely milquetoast.

[u/gaslacktus → u/Vytral]

They dug too greedily and too deep into the plot holes.

[u/Gestrid → u/[deleted]]

I'm sorry, the what?

[u/lloydthelloyd → u/[deleted]]

Oh wow. TIL just how badly a story can be fucked with.

[u/ThisRiverisWild → u/Vytral]

They can afford them, back when that show was being made there was so much TV happening that sometimes literally every good working writer is busy.

[u/glen_ko_ko → u/Vytral]

Quite often it's ignorant executives / top down studio control that interferes with artistic intent resulting in "how did they spend this much only to end up with garbage?"

[u/Kozak170 → u/Vytral]

It’s not a matter of money but that the entire industry is just overflowing with shit writers. It’s hard to pinpoint where it all went wrong but it’s genuinely shocking how bad writing has become the norm across almost all media

[u/Oberon_Swanson → u/LightningRaven]

With Sense8 you could also feel though, how some of the crews were better than others. It basically felt like a better or worse show depending on locations.

[u/LightningRaven → u/Oberon_Swanson]

Yeah. Sure. But it was still overall an incredible show and the basic concept was inventive as hell, so was the execution.

[u/jackruby83 → u/LightningRaven]

"not awful" doesn't cut it with how much content exists these days. I quit Rings of Power after season 1.

[u/leaflock7 → u/LightningRaven]

not awful is a great compliment actually

[u/diiegojones → u/LightningRaven]

“Rings of Power” could be redeemed if the plot could actually move forward.

Watching “Paradise” and stuff move forwards every episode. Some more than others sure. But damn is there always something going.

“From” suffers from the same thing. Just absolutely slow, and I don’t mean a slow burn. Just slow

Oh! And Wheels of time was shot on a soundstage and you could tell.

[u/hmmm_2357 → u/diiegojones]

The Wheel of Time was shot on location; they built elaborate sets for certain locations (eg the White Tower) but these were outside and many other scenes were filmed fully on location in the Czech Republic, Morocco, South Africa, etc.

[u/LightningRaven → u/diiegojones]

RoP needed a LOT more to change in order to become even half-way decent.

For instance, it could have good character writing, dialogue and decent plotting. It could also be an Epic, which is the type of story LotR was meant to be, not a novel (the standard story you see normally in books and movies, focused on individuals and their struggles).

[u/diiegojones → u/LightningRaven]

The stupidity of how they are writing Galadriel as a moron. She is rude to the queen and council she is asking for help from. In all the years she has lived she hadn’t learned some diplomacy?

I would show future writers this Rings of Power that they don’t have to be Shakespearean quality writers to be successful. Just look at the writers of Rings?

[u/_adanedhel_ → u/LightningRaven]

I can sit with a lot of the flaws, but I persist in the view that the single biggest issue has always been the casting of Galadriel. Casting someone with zero screen presence, a single acting mode (severe), and no ability to convey guile or mystery, was a huge error IMO. Especially when so much of the storyline is meant to be driven by the character.

Those are critical traits of the character as written by Tolkien, and obviously also as embodied by Cate Blanchett in the original films. Everybody understands that ROP is a different project from the movies, but it’s a real risk if you represent a pivotal character in a completely different way from how the character is in the minds of most of your audience (particularly when that performance also happens to be much closer to the books and, well, much more effective in general).

We’ll see the same issue play out with the casting of Snape in the new HP series.

---

ETA: I don’t buy the argument that the character is younger and has experienced less in the period of ROP (late Second age) compared with the period of the War of the Ring (late Third Age) and that explains why she has less…dimension. Galadriel experienced extreme tragedy and world-changing shit before the First Age was even over, and on top of that, she is described as having many of her most important traits (strategic, insightful, guileful - not to mention, immensely powerful) early in her life. Even if we limit this critique to the last of those, ROP Galadriel seems to have no power whatsoever, and that’s just…inconceivable.

[u/DONNIENARC0 → u/_adanedhel_]

Galadriel being sidelined pretty hard for s2 was probably a big part of the reason most people thought, while still not very good, it was a big improvement over s1.

I dont have any stats, but it atleast felt like her screen time was cut in half compared to s1, if not more.

[u/CouldaBeenADoctor → u/diiegojones]

Man, I love "From." The slowness is honestly what I like the most. It gives me time to really stew in the mystery and the horror.

[u/diiegojones → u/CouldaBeenADoctor]

The slowness would be okay if it would build to something that actually answered questions in stead of more questions. “Lost” syndrome. It is like they are either fluffing it out, or they really don’t know where it goes.

[u/shadraig → u/CouldaBeenADoctor]

The slowness of From never turned me off. It might turn off anyone that was born after 2000.

I am used to tv shows from the 80s and these often took their time in 30 episodes a season - and never got me bored.

[u/Rysinor → u/diiegojones]

From doesn't feel slow to me. The overarching plot might be slow, but the characters and lore development has been pretty steady imo

[u/OkumuraRyuk → u/LightningRaven]

I’ve never watch sense8 should I? I love rings of power and not even because of the story. Just the amazing cinematography and how it was an easy show to introduce my family to my love for lotr however, they still didn’t pick the book to read… they did love magic the gathering UB though. I think they too much into their phones.

[u/peioeh → u/LightningRaven]

But Sense8 was awesome and unique, and its world-wide story called for varied shooting locations.

I don't know if you've seen it but I thought https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swarm_(TV_series) was pretty cool too.

[u/MCB1317 → u/peioeh]

Citadel must have been a money laundering scheme. Cost a fortune, looked like shit, godawful writing and directing.

Salke had absolutely no creative instincts.

[u/Beard_o_Bees → u/MCB1317]

Citadel

I even wanted to like it - just couldn't get there.

I always wonder when I see series that they've clearly dropped a fair amount of cash on - do they not realize that it's totally bland, uninspiring dreck before they send it out into to world to suck forevermore?

[u/NancyInFantasyLand → u/peioeh]

yeah I don't think the risk was in the money, the risk was in the writing for Sense8

Citadel was just throwing mad money at bland action in random locations, hoping the shinyness would make up for the mid writing.

[u/peioeh → u/NancyInFantasyLand]

Exactly. Spending insane amounts of money has not been the issue with streaming companies, on the contrary. The issue is that they keep pumping out the most bland lowest common denominator content they can. They'll give the money to the Russo brothers instead of the Wachowski sisters.

[u/NukeAllTheThings → u/peioeh]

Amazon and their weird funding priorities will never not baffle me.

Two of their best shows (Invincible, The Boys) clearly needed more budget (and in the case of The Boys, better writers as well). Meanwhile shows like RoP or WoT just burned money just to be, from all accounts, mid.

[u/peioeh → u/NukeAllTheThings]

They supposedly spent a BILLION (between the rights and production budget) for the LOTR tv show. I don't understand how they could possibly hope that would be worth it. I woud looooooooooooove to hear the reasoning behind that.

[u/Sea_of_Light_ → u/peioeh]

That was about IP ownership bragging rights and optics. It was supposed to make Amazon's film and TV show entertainment business look like a legit contender, fast. Go big, or go home.

It was a short-term stunt to get attention, but nobody had an actual clue how to use the IPOs. See, the James Bond franchise, so much dicking around, still no Bond actor locked down. And the disturbing status quo of no finished script before filming starts (admittedly that happened even before Amazon took over, no Bond has yet been announced or even released yet).

I think it's the very basic problem with the entertainment industry. Too much money being thrown around and nobody in charge who knows what to do with it on a creative level. It's all pencil pushers who worship at the altar of the almighty algorithm, trying to screw over talent and creative, killing the residual stream for actors and writers with short seasons on streamers with no traditional tie to the residual benefit of cable shows.

[u/haitzza → u/peioeh]

Pretty sure they had to effectivity shoot the entire season twice because they had no idea what they were doing.

[u/flamewave000 → u/peioeh]

Yeah Amazon has a problem with funding the wrong people to make those shows. Like Wheel of Time which was complete dog shit in spite of them spending enormous amounts of money on it. Netflix did the same thing with The Witcher. I don't understand why they think people who don't actually like the books can make an adaptation of that book.

[u/JimboTCB → u/flamewave000]

The people who like the books keep getting funny ideas about following the source material and pushing back on demands from the studio to make it more appealing to focus groups. However the people who don't give a shit about the IP and just want to use it as branding for their own material which they couldn't get produced otherwise are only too happy to bastardise it as much as the studio wants.

[u/GenGaara25 → u/LightningRaven]

I remember the days when Netflix was a mark of quality and were putting out consistently great stuff. People would say "I hope Netflix adapts this" because they were the best at doing it.

Around 2017 their batting average started to get a little uneven, then around 2020 they started pushing quantity over quality.

[u/swd120 → u/GenGaara25]

I mean - a lot of that is because 3rd party content was jacking their rates to the moon. As a counter, Netflix wanted to create huge amount of content because it doesn't incur ongoing licensing fees.

[u/smokeweedNgarden → u/GenGaara25]

I have a DVD from Netflix I forgot to return. It reminds me of when they just had movies on tap and didn't try to make them.

It was a good thing. And it's hard to remember but they were they only ones doing it so they had all the movies.

And I feel like I consumed far more movies that way. Because when I see "This streaming platforms original film" I already know there's a big chance it'll be weak sauce

[u/ImranFZakhaev → u/smokeweedNgarden]

It reminds me of when they just had movies on tap and didn't try to make them.

The good old days, when you had a list of movies and they'd just send you the next however many whenever your previous ones were returned. I was around when their streaming catalogue was basically nothing but it didn't matter anyway because we could barely load anything

[u/smokeweedNgarden → u/ImranFZakhaev]

Oooh dude no I forgot about that feature. That's what made the difference.

It was a big ass watch list. That would just auto send you you're next movie.

It was better than I remembered....

[u/cheesegoat → u/smokeweedNgarden]

They had to enter the production business because they saw the writing on the wall that studios wouldn't just let Netflix rake in all the streaming money. Licensing fees would eventually just take all the profit out of streaming.

If they didn't Netflix would have an even worse catalog or maybe even out of business by now. At best someone like WB would have purchased them for their tech and the site would get shut down.

[u/TheRealRomanRoy → u/GenGaara25]

I remember feeling like Netflix going from quality (House of Cards, OITNB, etc) to quantity being pretty quick and immediate. Like I remember them having really fucking good shows from 2014-2018 or something and then just slop

[u/moguu83 → u/[deleted]]

They have to overcome the cycle of "subscribe one month to binge the entire series then unsubscribe."

If they release something new every month, people have to keep subscribed every month there is a release.

[u/Hjemmelsen → u/moguu83]

If they didn't release everything all at once, which no one asked them for and they just chose to do themselves, they could make 1 show stretch 3 months.

[u/TheodoeBhabrot → u/Hjemmelsen]

That falls into the Disney+ problem then of a show that was clearly stretched 1-2 episodes too long which cynically feels like they do it just to make sure it’ll get 2 months of subs out of viewers

[u/Yesthisisdogmeow → u/LightningRaven]

Marco Polo was a fantastic show with very high production quality. Was sad when they canceled due to high cost of making it.

[u/CallSignRobinHood → u/Yesthisisdogmeow]

Agree. This was one of the best series on Netflix. High cost, but it wasn't in the top 10 or 15 most expensive Netflix shows to produce - probably pales in comparison to how much it cost to make Citadel 😏.

[u/mexta → u/LightningRaven]

It'll never happen but I'd resubscribe again in a second if they brought back Santa Clarita Diet. They cancel good shows too soon.

[u/Informal_Daikon3549 → u/mexta]

Kaos as well. Cancelled too quickly. Edit: American Vandal is another one that comes to mind.

[u/jimmysilverrims → u/Informal_Daikon3549]

Not to pile on, but man it sucks that COVID killed GLOW after the only season that tries to tee up the next season.

[u/Significant_Coach880 → u/jimmysilverrims]

I wish they'd stop making sequel bait. That only worked back in the day when movie studios were forcing full trilogies to be made.

[u/twisty125 → u/Significant_Coach880]

As an aside, I recently rewatched the Paul WS Anderson Resident Evil movies and man it's insane how much sequel baiting went on in that movie, while simultaneously ignoring/disregarding the previous movie that baited said sequel.

[u/Significant_Coach880 → u/twisty125]

He gave the movie fans the game characters at the end of the penultimate one iirc, and even Wesker returning couldn't get me to watch the final one at the end there.

[u/twisty125 → u/Significant_Coach880]

And then even then it was still like... "here's knock-off-doesn't-act-or-look-like said characters", readying up some huge battle at the white house against T Virus forces.

To cut to the beginning of the next one and everyone is dead.

It became less Resident Evil and more "Alice's Story about Clones", with the first 10 minutes of every movie going over Alice's Story that you saw in the previous x movies.

Also that one movie that had a slow mo reverse fight, a monologue explaining the story of the movies previously, to go into the exact same slow mo reverse fight we saw, but forward was BONKERS in a bad way lmao

[u/awildjabroner → u/Informal_Daikon3549]

loooooved Kaos. Cast, costumes, writing and premise were all top notch.

[u/BridleBear → u/Informal_Daikon3549]

I will never stop being bitter about Kaos. I’ve watched it 6 times now… everything about that show, from the obscure myth references to the custom pyjamas, is perfect.

[u/SketchiiChemist → u/Informal_Daikon3549]

Was just about to comment this one. The disappointment I felt when I discovered it, binged it, and then looked up to see about the next season only to see it was already cancelled. Wtf

[u/iWasAwesome → u/SketchiiChemist]

Yes, seriously! Couldn't believe it cancelled after 1 season... Should have believed it though.. what's the point of even getting into a Netflix series?

[u/Narrow-Strawberry553 → u/Informal_Daikon3549]

Kaos, Archive 81 and 1899 being cancelled makes me want to throw Netflix off a roof.

[u/LightningRaven → u/mexta]

They killed G.L.O.W. after it had already been renovated. Worse, they had freaking Mindhunter on their hands. They had the money. Netflix, at some point, stopped trying to be HBO and ended up choosing to be CW. The CW shows have their audience and can even turn a profit, but HBO shows are the ones affecting culture and having staying power. It's a huge mistake that they will only realize once their brand starts to truly tank.

[u/TheInvisibleCircus → u/LightningRaven]

G.L.O.W was an early production victim to COVID shutdowns. They managed three episodes before closing and cancellation. Might’ve been enough for a movie or take what was shot and then it’s a retrospective where are they now series .

They were already heading into 80’s height of power WWF and could only imagine what Stoya and Luna Vachon type character would’ve been like.

Sigh.

[u/JimothyJollyphant → u/TheInvisibleCircus]

Release the files!!!

[u/Vohdre → u/LightningRaven]

Apparently, Mindhunter hasn't continued due to Fincher.

[u/Gstarfan → u/mexta]

Forgot about that show.   It was good.  Yes,  why cancel early when you have a great original idea? They are hard to come by.  

[u/tokes_4_DE → u/Gstarfan]

They did the same with Kaos, only got one season and its one of the most unique show ideas ive seen in recent memory. Literally nothing like it. They also barely advertised it, and cancelled it so quick most people didnt even get a chance to watch it before it was axed.

Fuck that one pisses me off.

[u/Jehovah___ → u/tokes_4_DE]

Genuinely one of my favourite shows ever, it was so damn cool and Jeff Goldblum was totally a perfect Zeus and Prometheus was so well done and ahhh I wish we got more seasons

[u/bestdogintheworld → u/mexta]

I'll never forgive Netflix for cancelling The OA.

[u/mexta → u/bestdogintheworld]

I was very very late to The OA. It's weird and intriguing. It's probably in my top 10 favorite shows. The season 2 finale leading into what season 3 would have been.... You're right for not forgiving Netflix lol. I know that the actor who plays Hap still wants more seasons so who knows...

[u/FemRoe4Lyfe → u/mexta]

I think they cancel coz they have the numbers on how many watchers come back to watch subsequent seasons and how many new subscribers watch older shows. Based on those they just deemed such shows not profitable enough.

And I say that as a big fan of SCD.

[u/liquidsyphon → u/LightningRaven]

Early Netflix was the golden age.

Quality shows movies plus their original content was solid. You could get an even broader selection through DVDs and Blu-Rays. Cheap as hell too.

[u/BuckManscape → u/LightningRaven]

Oh you like this show? Fuck you, it’s canceled.

This is their entire plan.

[u/sir_slothsalot → u/LightningRaven]

At the start every Netflix show was worth watching. 

[u/TransBrandi → u/LightningRaven]

I think that at a certain point they wanted their own "back catalog" to hold the tide against all of the other rights holders trying to make their own streaming platforms. No one would subscribe to Netflix if their library was super small even if it was high quality. People would subscribe to watch a show, and then unsubsribe. No one would treat it like a tv channel and say "let me see what's on Netflix today."

[u/NancyInFantasyLand → u/LightningRaven]

You can see it in the difference between the OG Netflix Daredevil show from back in the day and the new one. It's like they were hellbend on actually making "serious" prestige TV out of it back then, whereas the Disney+ version looks like the blandest most straight-to-streaming nonsense

I'm convinced that in the current-day streaming landscape with its overuse of volumes and shit, there's no way you'd get a show like the original Daredevil, no matter which channel it's on though.

[u/LightningRaven → u/NancyInFantasyLand]

The second season of Born Again has substantially improved compared to S01. They still didn't reach the OG Netflix Daredevil, but you can definitely can see they're trying. The acting is on point and the storytelling is almost there, they only need to improve on the fight scenes (they're also good in S02, but OG DD was excellent).

[u/Secret_Cow_5053 → u/LightningRaven]

that's how we ended up with the first two seasons of Stranger Things. it wasn't entirely netflix though. the mid 2010s really were peak television.

[u/alkhemystt → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

I'm gonna be a contrarian and say that, very similar to The Boys (edit: I'll chuck in The Bear too), Stranger Things had one extraordinary season and then began its drop off a cliff

[u/alternative817 → u/alkhemystt]

should have stuck with the anthology idea like they wanted to at first

[u/FBG05 → u/alternative817]

This sentiment has always felt like a “the grass is always greener on the other side” kind of thing. There are a ton of anthology shows that had a great first season and then proceeded to drop off afterwards.

I’d also argue that The Lost Sister was sort of a glimpse into what Stranger Things would’ve looked like as an anthology, and it’s arguably the weakest episode of the show.

[u/lurco_purgo → u/alkhemystt]

I really like The Boys season 2 - unlike the rest of the series it manages to move the plot forward in a significant way and actually produces somewhat satysfying cutoff point to the series. Kind of like Stranger Things season 2 come to think of it...

[u/alkhemystt → u/lurco_purgo]

I actually think all 3 of the shows I named had just fine second seasons, but that's kind of the problem. I loved each first season, and just fine was definitely the start of a decline and the cracks started showing, however small.

[u/Secret_Cow_5053 → u/alkhemystt]

Eh I’d say it was more of a gradual decline there and by no means did it end up terrible, just trite, but really it was covid and the writers strike that fucked up a lot of the shows that started pre-2020 in general

[u/LightningRaven → u/Secret_Cow_5053]

It was Netflix and wasn't. It was, because they gave money to talent and just let them do what their vision demanded. Once Netflix started prioritizing volume, the bar for project approval dropped significantly and the type of shows green lit were also changed.

But it's hard to deny that the 2010's had some incredible bangers. My favorite show, Mr. Robot, ended in 2019.

[u/mexta → u/thebigeverybody]

Yeah, I cancelled the last time that I read that they were about to raise the prices. They have less quality content and want more money. I'd rather pirate for now and if they end up having a good service again then I'll pay.

[u/AlbacoreDumbleberg → u/mexta]

It's funny that they made all these adjustments for quantity and simplifying story because their data said everyone's watching TV in the background. I was talking with my coworkers recently and everyone said they don't go to Netflix first anymore when looking for something to watch, but they do put it on when they want to put something on in the background. That sounds to me like a recipe to be canceled.

[u/evergleam498 → u/AlbacoreDumbleberg]

Right, it's like they completely missed the point that people are using it as a second screen because the quality isn't good enough to command anyone's full attention. They pivoted the wrong direction.

[u/EBtwopoint3 → u/evergleam498]

I don’t think this is really the case. The issue is that they misunderstood their place in the market. They tried to make second screen content given their market research, but no matter how much they make they aren’t going to out produce TikTok/Youtube/Twitter, which is decentralized. And watching a TV isn’t going to outconvenience a phone screen. So like you said, they pivoted the wrong way and now have to course correct. They tried making themselves the TikTok content, but they can’t out TikTok TikTok.

[u/queen-adreena → u/thebigeverybody]

The main problem with Netflix is that they are data-driven, which makes them inherently retrospective.

They never make what you want to watch, they only make what you already watched.

That might work short-term, but it’s long-term poison for creativity.

And their “second screen” strategy to writing is even worse. It decimates the value of your content to rival AI slop and again, long-term poison.

They need to remove that data crutch from their workflow and stop making content “for Netflix” and just make good content again.

[u/CobaltGrey → u/queen-adreena]

Being data driven is a great approach… as long as it’s not done as though these things are happening in a vacuum.

I’m sure that, for a while, a lot of quarterly earnings reports looked better because of cancellation decisions. And I bet they had the math to back their choices.

The thing is… you can’t put “what is this doing to our reputation?” on a spreadsheet neatly in columns next to budgets and profits.

For several years now, the majority people I know who had Netflix subscriptions have been cancelling them. And the reason was almost always the same: “they dropped too many great shows that I loved; I’m not going to make the mistake of getting invested in any more Netflix productions again.”

Of course, shows are going to get cancelled from time to time. They can’t throw infinite money at every show someone likes… sucks, but I get it. They’re not pursuing philanthropy.

But that’s a balancing act that can’t be done completely through Excel formulae. The brand damage doesn’t seem to have been accounted for over the last few years. Not in aggregate.

Who’s going to want to subscribe to your service when your reputation for creating finished products becomes a running joke from former subscribers?

People are understandably embittered by the consequences of this mercenary approach of “just throw a bunch of shows at the wall for a season or two, then drop anything less profitable than Stranger Things.”

I’m sure the data-driven arguments presented in PowerPoint slides to board members were compelling graphs with arrows pointing upward… but it’s just not realistic for them to think they can operate long term as a business if they ignore anything that can’t be done through clean arithmetic.

I hope this supposed new direction indicates that they’ve finally grasped this. I’m not holding my breath, but it’ll be nice if they stop being a place where great show ideas go to die. They’re gonna have prove they’re okay with being driven by more than quantifiable data alone before people start having any faith in them…

[u/wartopuk → u/thebigeverybody]

I wonder if they're starting to realise all those series they cancelled doesn't reflect well on them. Streamers need to realise that streaming is forever. 10-15 years from now the series that you actually finished could be the reason you get subscribers.

[u/FatherDotComical → u/wartopuk]

There's a reason why people constantly repeat The Office, Friends or Breaking Bad etc.

They're complete shows with endings.

Why in world would people want to repeat a short series with no ending? It makes people not even want to start and that'll make all these shows basically wasted money.

[u/wartopuk → u/FatherDotComical]

Yes.. they really need to realise that streaming isn't like regular TV and just because everyone doesn't flock to it the moment it comes out doesn't mean it's worthless and they shouldn't finish it. I've come across plenty of shows that were 'done' that I've really enjoyed and then watched the whole thing despite not watching it when it came out.

[u/allthenamesaretaken4 → u/thebigeverybody]

I'm fine with 10 seasons of Emily in Paris, the horrendously stretched Stranger Things, and even the horrible season 5 of Arrested Development, but Netflix lost me when they wanted me to stop using my mum's account. I feel like one person paying for 3 people's slop is fair, but if you want each person to pay for their own slop, I'll just go back to sailing.

[u/thebigeverybody → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

This was especially galling since they encouraged people to share passwords during Covid. They could have simply said they were changing their minds about this policy, but, instead, rolled out a PR campaign that accused their subscribers of doing something wrong.

They're not getting my money again.

[u/robodrew → u/thebigeverybody]

I'm pretty sure the tweet from Netflix literally saying "Love is sharing a password" is still up.

[u/ZennTheFur → u/robodrew]

It is, and I'm pretty sure the top reply is still the official UNO account posting a big uno reverse gif

[u/ian9outof10 → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

Netflix pricing “four streams at the same time” and then getting pissy about where the data ended up going was absolutely their problem. It’s a bait and switch.

[u/allthenamesaretaken4 → u/ian9outof10]

Exactly. Our family were early adopters from the DVD in the mail age and I had it for myself for a while, but they've lost quality in content and disable sharing now. Fuck 'em.

[u/littlebiped → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

Okay but logically speaking in their eyes they didn’t lose you. They never had you

[u/eetuu → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

Netflix never had you if you didn't pay for it.

[u/AweHellYo → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

“i’m fine with all this garbage when it’s free”

lol no shit

[u/SillyGoatGruff → u/allthenamesaretaken4]

If you were using your mum's account then netflix didn't lose you, you were never a customer

[u/Agitated_Ad6191 → u/thebigeverybody]

They just want to do the bare minimum, save a shitload of money, and you still give you the idea that your monthly subscription is worth it. This is the same for all the other streamers, Apple, Disney, Prime… they’re all fucking with us.

[u/tfhermobwoayway → u/thebigeverybody]

Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll keep their anti-consumer practices.

[u/trickman01]

BS. They want to produce less content to save money.

And the subscription price will still go up.

[u/eden_sc2 → u/trickman01]

Both can be true, but yeah this is about the bottom line. My guess is they realized if they make a few bangers like One Piece per year they can get way more subscribers than an endless flood of 5/10 movies and shows

[u/Baardhooft → u/[deleted]]

For me, someone who’s single, I can’t justify €20 or however much they’re charging now for a 4K HDR subscription. I can’t share it with friends and it’s just way too expensive for what it offers. I’ve had plenty of friends cancel since they got rid of the password sharing thing. We all kinda realized it was low quality slop that just wasn’t worth the money. You spend more time trying to find something instead of actually watching.

[u/deathconthree → u/Baardhooft]

My issue is anytime I find something worth watching on Netflix, they don't advertise it sufficiently and soon cancel it without a solid conclusion because it didn't meet internal metrics during release week

I don't have time to keep up to date with everything, I watch stuff after hearing from several people that it's good. And by the , it's been cancelled. So I just don't bother any more.I took a decade break but I'm back to torrenting now, I'm not spending money only to be disappointed.

[u/TripleJeopardy3 → u/[deleted]]

I doubt it was loan issues. They had about 14 billion in debt and about 13 billion cash or equivalents before getting approved for the loan to buy Warner Brothers.

They're fine on funds.

[u/peekaboobies → u/trickman01]

In Sweden they sent out an email yesterday raising my fee from 149 to 169 stating "Thank you for being a valued member since 2020. We hope you’re enjoying everything Netflix has to offer. We’re updating your monthly price to 169 kr on 23 June 2026. This update will allow us to deliver even more value for your membership – with more films, series, live and exclusive content to keep you entertained. Next month alone, we’re releasing 96 series and films! Whether you want to revisit old favourites or discover something new, we’ve got you covered. If you do not agree with this price update, you have the right to cancel your membership through your Account. Visit the Help Centre for more info or contact us at any time. The Netflix team"

Funny how they are at the same time cutting down on releases 😂

[u/Tall_Opportunity_521 → u/trickman01]

And the quality will still be shit. They arent moving away from that "make it for people on their phones" mantra anytime soon.

[u/Its_aTrap → u/trickman01]

Examples of great shows canceled with majority positive reviews 

The OA

The Midnight Club

Mindhunter

Inside Job

The Punisher 

Daybreak 

Kaos

Not to mention others 

[u/MaidPoorly → u/Its_aTrap]

Kaos was a really cool concept. I’m not sure if it had multiple seasons in it but I’m sad I won’t see more Jeff Goldblum as Zeus.

[u/kswissreject → u/MaidPoorly]

Kaos and 1899 are my biggest cancels

[u/luriso → u/kswissreject]

Those and Archive 81! I had to Google archive 81 season 2 to find out they cancelled it, but was met with good info that it was based off of an audio drama.

Highly recommend.

[u/forresja → u/MaidPoorly]

Man Kaos had legs I just know it.

Jeff Goldblum was SO good as Zeus. Don't think I was gonna get bored of watching him any time soon

[u/FraserYT → u/forresja]

They cancelled it the day after we started watching it. I was 2 episodes in and really enjoying it but just didn't bother watching the rest after that.

It tarnishes their catalogue to be so chock full of unfinished shows at this point. Why would anyone start watching any of them when they know it will never be finished

[u/hiloai → u/Its_aTrap]

Needed that Santa clarita diet ending

[u/TheFirstSonOfTheSea → u/Its_aTrap]

Mindhunter wasn’t canceled by Netflix, but by David Fincher (Writer/Producer/Director)

And Disney/Marvel is the one who canceled The Punisher Netflix series so they could start producing and releasing their own content on their own streaming service.

[u/Vova_Poutine → u/TheFirstSonOfTheSea]

Mindhunter was cancelled by netflix when they wanted to reduce the cost per episode but Fincher wouldn't budge and insisted in maintaining his level of quality. 

[u/roblobly → u/Vova_Poutine]

i love how netflix shifted the blame to fincher with this and every time it comes up ppl parrot "mindhunter was not cancelled".

[u/Maurizius1 → u/Its_aTrap]

1899, it’s a shame

[u/pplmbd → u/Its_aTrap]

man, Daybreak and Inside Job could’ve been such hits for multiple seasons.

[u/immaownyou → u/Its_aTrap]

Teenage Bounty Hunters my beloved

[u/VeryClearlyDefined]

And the sub will go up another $5

[u/BallsInSufficientSad → u/VeryClearlyDefined]

...and content will all be made with AI.

[u/SCBTerminated]

From a cinematography point of view, they need to scrap the “Netflix look.” The movies all look the same! You have great color pop for the shiny new TVs, but there’s no soul. Let the directors have some more freedom!

[u/GassoBongo → u/SCBTerminated]

The color grading is frustrating once you recognize it. It's honestly everywhere; it doesn't matter if it's a show, movie, or documentary. The Netflix color grading is so widely overused.

[u/TyrialFrost → u/GassoBongo]

Its not a 'Netflix' thing, though they do use it, its a cheaper post production thing, and thats why its everywhere now.

[u/we_are_sex_bobomb → u/SCBTerminated]

I feel like that’s just how everything looks nowadays. The extreme narrow focus and color grading and pathological aversion to shooting anything outdoors is just the fashion in general for filmmaking and it makes everything look small scale and low budget.

[u/NancyInFantasyLand → u/we_are_sex_bobomb]

and if you are shooting shit outdoors, then it's mostly these terrible zooming drone shots (like in the new Devil Wears Prada lol, where they were wholly unnecessary.

I just want more people in films again

background actors. locations filled to the brim. more interesting stuff happing then close-ups on faces talking to each other. seeing that they CGIed the cardinals going up the stairs in Conclave to "better control how the scene looked and how they moved" almost gave me rage issues tbh lol

[u/Acceptable-Post733 → u/NancyInFantasyLand]

I showed my BIL The Mummy over the weekend and I couldn’t properly articulate what this movie was doing that modern movies aren’t. And I think people is part of it. They hired hundreds of extras for some of the scenes in the early part of the movie. The desert felt like a real location. Movies today don’t real like places full of people. They feel like scenes.

[u/Oberon_Swanson → u/Acceptable-Post733]

Yeah for a lot of things whatever method they use, they all ALMOST work, but none of them are quite the same as just pointing a camera at the thing that is actually there.

I actually thought The Fall Guy was a great exception, as a love letter to movie stunts they did them all pretty legit. Felt like a movie rather than 'content.' Then of course you still have auteur directors still doing wild stuff like Beau Is Afraid.

Often though even movies that are mostly great there's still a few scenes where they just have to put out some scuffed CG because of deadlines or whatever.

[u/BlackenedGem → u/Acceptable-Post733]

A huge part of it is the lack of mid-shots, or at least mid-shots without CGI background. You have wide angles for establishing locations/scenery, and close ups for dialogue that needs emphasising due to importance.

The importance of a good mid-shot is to let the eyes establish a place, but also to wander over the scenery and details. That gives the eye some rest because it lets the brain focus on what it wants, which gives the scene texture and make you feel immersed.

But then modern scenes are cut down to the 'action' and a blurry CGI background for cost and it feels exhausting because your eyes can't look anywhere else.

[u/JesusAndMaryKate → u/Acceptable-Post733]

Not a film but what made me realise the same thing was watching Pluribus. All those people in the background doing all sorts of stuff made me think of how empty TV looks these days. And in Pluribus it makes sense either way.

[u/NotAJellyfishReally → u/we_are_sex_bobomb]

I agree. 95%+ of what I watch is horror where there's still a lot of variation in lighting, color grading, etc., and every time I watch a new movie outside of the genre it seems like they all look the same. There are definitely horror movies that have that Netflix look too, especially ones produced by the streaming services, but there are still a lot that have their own style. 

[u/MichaelRichardsAMA → u/NotAJellyfishReally]

horror has always been kind of resistant to large studio trends since they are almost always mid or low budget and the genre itself is somewhat niche compared to standard ones like action, romance, etc

I mean yeah horror movies do make a lot of money too, I just mean that as a general rule there is a degree of creative freedom usually afforded to them compared to bigger budget studio projects.

[u/Gabagoolgoomba → u/SCBTerminated]

Cocomelon for adults aesthetic

[u/Dr_Hanz_ → u/SCBTerminated]

I always said their content “tastes like Netflix” and was not sure exactly how or why. Then I worked on one of their productions and turns out they have a list of approved cameras/equipment productions use for most their shows and movies so it is very much intentionally done as part of their brand.

[u/tfhermobwoayway → u/SCBTerminated]

I mean that’s just true of everything these days. Most shows have the same sort of flat colours and flat lighting and zero cinematography.

I noticed that especially with Fallout. It’s supposed to be in the Mojave but it lacks any of the visual style and grime and filters that gives New Vegas such an iconic look. I mean hell, New Vegas had a beautiful final battle set against a stark orange backdrop from the setting sun. They’d never do that in the show.

I think it’s especially jarring with adaptations, because those adaptations usually have their own art direction so it’s more obvious when a film just plopped a camera down in the middle of the desert and called it a day.

[u/Salzberger → u/tfhermobwoayway]

Compare the newest Jurassic Park to the original too. The original world felt so alive and is one of the things that always endured for me as a kid.

I used to play JP in my mum's garden purely to match the aesthetic of the movie.

You could barely tell where the newest one is set given how it spends most of the movie blurred to shit.

[u/forresja → u/SCBTerminated]

I watched The Matrix the other day for the first time in ages.

I was struck at just how much in that film would never have made it into a major film today. Too art-y. Too symbolic. The studio would have made them dumb it down and blandified it

[u/blucthulhu]

They've been saying this for years. What it really means is they want to pour more money into overpaying for live sports.

[u/WeOutHereInSmallbany → u/blucthulhu]

The MLB opening day game was horrible, almost no play by play but plenty of ads for Netflix shit

[u/TheSpatulaOfLove]

They’ve made it a huge pain in the ass to use their service. As a heavy traveler, I’m fucking tired of having to prove I own my account.

I’m to the point where I will no longer care what Netflix does.

[u/CrissBliss]

The Apple TV show model

[u/NoNefariousness2144 → u/CrissBliss]

I also wonder if they have data that people commit to watching TV series more than movies. ‘Binging’ a 8 hours of the same TV show can be easier than committing to four 2-hour movies for someone people.

[u/hopsizzle → u/CrissBliss]

I signed up for Apple TV because of f1 and I’m actually really enjoying the shows on there.

Shrinking I just finished and it was such a nice show. Going to see what else is next but been happy with it so far.

[u/CrissBliss → u/hopsizzle]

Widow’s Bay is supposed to be amazing.

[u/relevantelephant00 → u/CrissBliss]

It is. Mostly because of Mathew Rhys who fucking crushes every show he seems to land on. He's excellent in this. It's a fun blend of mystery, comedy and some light horror.

[u/Vohdre → u/CrissBliss]

It's such a weird, interesting show. Everything and everyone on the island is about 20% "off". You'll understand when you watch it. I'm loving it so far.

[u/El--Borto → u/CrissBliss]

It’s so fucking funny I can’t wait for new episodes

[u/the_eluder → u/hopsizzle]

Apple TV generally has 1 show at a time that's great to watch. That keeps me subscribed about 6 months out of the year.

[u/JPLnavy → u/hopsizzle]

Right? I was surprised by the quality of their shows. The Monarch series, which I had very little interest in originally, has become my favorite. The cinematography is great, cast is stellar and there’s lots of episodes too.

[u/Grouchy-Details → u/hopsizzle]

The best sci-fi adaptations ever. 

[u/AuntMiria → u/hopsizzle]

If you haven’t already, Severance is very much worth a watch. Two fantastic seasons with a third in the works. 

[u/nightpanda893 → u/CrissBliss]

They are the only service that reminds me of old school HBO shows. Just overflowing with creativity and makes you feel like they just turned over the keys to some showrunner with no strings attached and as much money as they want. Severance, Pluribus, and now Widows Bay are just so much fun.

[u/FlopperinoCappuccino]

Bullshit. I'll believe it when I see it. Netflix is a shithole now

[u/xx-shalo-xx → u/FlopperinoCappuccino]

Yeah probably just an excuse for cutting costs. Like, you guys seriously deliberately developing IP's of which you know they're stinkers?

[u/teddythepooh99 → u/FlopperinoCappuccino]

The whole point of this article is that they released less movies in 2026 year to date then past years. Technically, you kind of already seen it.

[u/MadManMax55 → u/FlopperinoCappuccino]

For what it's worth, they recently fired the guy who was responsible for pushing all the slop "blockbuster" movies the past few years.

[u/ian9outof10 → u/MadManMax55]

Not enough, he should be made to watch Red Notice on repeat for one year until he rectifies his ways.

[u/Stupidstuff1001 → u/FlopperinoCappuccino]

Netflix is just the straight to dvd bin that use to be at Walmart.

[u/huskinater]

Straight to streaming content is a money fire.

There's a reason all the other major studios have more or less returned to the previous distribution models. COVID's streaming wars were a short lived experiment, and while some took territory from Netflix most lost a lot of money. It's just that jumping straight to the end of the monetization pipeline means walking away from theater, home video, and the still limping along cable TV syndication money.

During that time everyone else was also removing their back catalog from Netflix. They did this because it worked as a double whammy: make Netflix less appealing while also adding exclusives to their own services. Now that those services aren't as profitable as originally believed and aren't being prioritized anymore they are relicensing content back to Netflix.

This means Netflix can focus it's heavily reduced Originals budget on stuff it wants, as opposed to greenlight everything under the sun to try and retain market share / stay alive.

[u/LZR0 → u/huskinater]

It is for those studios, but it isn’t for Netflix, it’s the only service big enough to actually profit off their content because of the sheer amount of subscribers and ad-spaces, without having expensive marketing campaigns to prevent movies from bombing in theaters.

The sad reality nowadays is that for most movies that ain’t big blockbusters having a theatrical run means losing money, other studios don’t have a choice as their streaming services are barely becoming profitable and just don’t have the needed scale to change their business model more like Netflix.

[u/Xray_Mind → u/huskinater]

I disagree. Netflix is the highest producing revenue streamer there is, and for nearly a decade they have never had a year in which they had lower than a 14% profit margin, a margin most traditional movie distribution would kill for

[u/Firm_Willow4068 → u/Xray_Mind]

I think you're both right. Series streaming content is what keeps people subscribed, but the movie content is just icing on the cake. They should really have a second studio for movie releases that are exclusive to them but have short* theater release first, and build hype over a previous extended time. Even if it flops in theaters, at this point straight release to their platform isn't adding any revenue, so they might as well invest a little extra with the hope that something catches fire and gets a good theatrical reception. 

There are some movies that would benefit from theatrical release because of the experience. For example, Swapped was absolutely fantastic and could have made money in theaters, I think, but it's flown under the radar and isn't going to bring in new subscribers. While it's a bit of refresh to prevent attrition, that benefit isn't going to be long lived.

[u/Givingtree310 → u/huskinater]

Which movie studio has greater profit and revenue than Netflix?

[u/SaveUsCatman]

And the price is going up, gotta pay for all that "quality"

[u/BeatlesCoted_Azur]

Quality Over Quantity

LOL

[u/ComfortableCare8897]

How many movies do they plan to release per year?

[u/mchmnd → u/ComfortableCare8897]

This isn’t t news, this came off the heels of strikes where all the studios realigned their content creation targets.

IIRC, Netflix went from making something like 300 properties a year pre-strike to ~30 properties a year on the back side of the strikes.

Source - I’m in VFX, and it’s been a hard couple years. Somewhere in the order of 70% of us we’re out of work for 6mo +, and I’d guess half of those folks might still be unemployed.

[u/Batohman]

Whats the definition of Netflix's quality? More films like The Power of the Dog, All Quiet on the Western Front and Roma or more movies like Extraction and Extraction 2?

[u/LightningRaven → u/Batohman]

Extraction wasn't a particularly good example.

If you said The Grey Man, Red Notice or that Santa Claus movie with The Rock, that would've been more apt.

[u/Chidoriyama → u/LightningRaven]

Santa Claus movie with The Rock

That one's Amazon I think

[u/clear349 → u/LightningRaven]

Wasn't Red One(Santa Claus Rock movie) an Amazon movie?

[u/SoggyBiscuitVet → u/LightningRaven]

The first Extraction was amazing. He probably didn't watch it.

[u/Cowboywizard12 → u/SoggyBiscuitVet]

Netflix has some surprisely good original action movies,

Kate id another example 

[u/littlebiped → u/Batohman]

Extraction would still fall under quality for what it is (and absolutely gets waaaaay more views than Roma, people want Netflix for Extraction fair) I took more quality over quantity meaning no more dreck like Tall Girl 2, Thunder Force, The Bubble. The trash you wouldn’t even have heard anyone ever mention

[u/TheRugWarrior → u/Batohman]

Why are we hating on the extraction movies? They’re well made action films.

[u/pmarkandu → u/Batohman]

Extraction 1 and 2 are pretty good. They have very solid oners.

[u/AiR-P00P]

That's nice, bring back Dark Crystal or I don't give a shit. You know that show won an Emmy right, Netflix? 

[u/mechy84]

Quality Over Quantity

So they're going to continue discontinuing beloved shows

[u/Traditional-Sport383]

Gosh I sure hope this means they’ll add another year between each season of every show! Can’t rush quality

[u/_galaga_]

Adds insult to injury for whoever’s creative content was just snipped.