Why I Believe That Netflix is Too Much of a Good Thing

Scene from Daredevil

It has been commonly referenced on Optigrab that I am not a binge watcher. While I accept that there are circumstances that make the excessive viewing habits seem appetizing, I choose to have a more conservative route, and one that often sees a preference for the week-to-week schedule than the hour-to-hour model by which Netflix has made a killing on. With this Friday's release of Daredevil, I am met with a familiar excitement. I enjoyed the first season and wouldn't mind seeing what the show does with Elektra or The Punisher. However, I am also realizing another problem. I am way behind on everything else that Netflix has put out. While it is my fault in most cases, I choose to make the argument that Netflix's original content model is hitting a certain overkill portion where good shows will be buried and the "Here's some shows you should be watching" posts will pop up. Much like there's limited hours in the day, I think that we're looking at an inevitable backfire ahead for the streaming service.

I will admit that I am a slow and steady person. At most, my most "excessive" viewing habits for the initial release of a Netflix series is to watch the first episode, write up a Channel Surfing piece, and then maybe watch two more over the weekend. It is daunting then to see colleagues mentioning that they have finished the series in an unfathomable amount of time. They haven't just done that, but have moved on to making gifs and eagerly awaiting the chance to talk publicly about the plot details of the eighth hour of a 10 hour series. 

Meanwhile, I am lucky to finish a series within a month (even two is a stretch). I suppose that it is partially to blame for the "Too much good TV" construct that has been haunting TV for most of the past decade. I feel more obligated to finish a series airing weekly if just to keep up with conversations. There's something both reassuring and disarming about Netflix's model that causes general conversation to pretty much die. Hulu has sort of improved upon this with their Stephen King miniseries 11.22.63, but even that isn't a guaranteed success - as the recent bankruptcy of Yahoo! Screens would suggest, betting on crowd favorites like Community isn't going to keep your service afloat. 

Netflix has monopolized the market enough where the need to pay for another streaming service doesn't seem daunting. It also helps that they pretty much pulled a move similar to HBO by providing quality entertainment right off the bat. Using some mysterious algorithm, they have managed to make shows geared towards users who watch the other content. It also helps that Netflix also has been a rising tide lifts all boats situation, where shows like Breaking Bad have earned increase viewers on TV because of the show's availability. However, the model is also endless and can allow for many shows to be released simultaneously. Considering that the average show, both on TV and in Netflix's case, runs about 13 episodes, that's going to be 13 hours of programming to watch and consume. If you do it right, you give it some thought. However, I find issue with the consumption rate, because it doesn't allow time for thought.

In fact, there's been a recent general trend for Netflix series to be anticlimactic episode-to-episode. While Sense8 was the worst offender of this last year, Orange is the New Black saw a rapid change in quality between its second (and best) season and its recent third. Where the series was initially an addictive experience, the third season took things slower and made the idea of pressing the 'Next' button a lot more daunting. It could just be that the stories weren't as good, but the season never had a hook that felt worthwhile. It was embracing the slow narrative that built over episodes instead of a concrete story in an hour. This may be fine. It serviced Sense8 thanks to the show's ability to get by on surrealist and spiritual visual accompaniment. However, the desire to keep watching feels more exhausting, if just because it feels like a con that Netflix is starting to pull where even their recent comedy series Love has been considered the anti-binging show for almost lacking forward momentum and likable characters (despite this, the show does pick up after a few episodes).

I know it seems unfair to accuse Netflix of giving us too much original programming. This in general is a great idea, as it provides something for everybody. However, it does create a lack of cohesion for someone like myself who is preoccupied with programming on TV that feels more immediate in importance. The truth is that I do want to check out all of these shows, but the attention escapes me. I never saw Bloodline last year despite it being allegedly one of the best things that Netflix has ever done. It remains on my queue, but the idea that the next important show; Grace & Frankie, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jessica Jones; needs to take a certain precedence is an overwhelming reality. To say the least, Bloodline is one of the many shows that feel like they merely dropped the show and expected audiences to find it. They did, but if you don't do it immediately - you are royally screwed.

I suppose that I could be considered a rare example, an opposition as it were. I love TV and find value in viewing and discussing it. I often give shows a chance that aren't normally for me. However, I do believe in savoring a show. It is generally why HBO has been my favorite outlet for programming, as they feel like the predecessors to Netflix (edgy, hour-long content for adults). It does help that their average series length is a manageable 10 episodes. Netflix would probably rank higher if judged as a network if I didn't feel forced to keep up with entertainment instead of gradually appreciating it. This piece was partially influenced by my revelation that I was five episodes short of finishing Jessica Jones last week, of which I wanted to finish before Daredevil came back. Yes, I am not a binge viewer and this argument may seem irrational. However, I want to bring home the point yet again.

Can you name most of the original content that Netflix has released since January of 2016? Sure, you can name Daredevil, House of Cards, Fuller House, and maybe Love. But is that all there is? Can you even name the two new comedy series that were released LAST WEEK? Flaked and The Characters. Be honest. Do you even know what those are? I don't wish to judge on quality, but the fact that they have been buried in the conversation suggests that Netflix has already hit a point where even it has pointless programming that it merely dumps without so much as a fanfare. Given that these two shows feature talented people like Will Arnett (of BoJack Horseman) and Lauren Lapkus, why aren't they a bigger deal? It doesn't help that Fuller House had just premiered two weeks prior. When are people supposed to discover these shows if no one is allowed to have time to discover them?

My general issue has always been that the release schedules do not allow time to  properly enjoy one show. This year already has the Bloodline conflict since a couple shows have been unable to build traction. It's in large part to not providing promotion in favor of the big hits. There's no denying that House of Cards has received an exhausting marketing stint for a show that everyone already knew was coming back. Even to an extent Daredevil doesn't need the fanfare. So why not spread some love to Flaked or The Characters to at least let people know that it isn't some arbitrary image on your screen? 

The truth is that I am very excited to see what Netflix has this year. I'm curious to see if Daredevil can improve upon itself (I'm especially excited for Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). However, I have to make sure to harp on this issue because I do firmly believe that yes, Netflix has way too much content. Not just in the diverse genre version of too much content. I am merely talking about the issue of so much content that they're doomed to have high caliber shows just go unnoticed because they don't give enough time to digest. I do intend to watch Bloodline one of these days. Then again,  it's how I've felt for over half a year now. I just wish that Netflix would give me time to do so without feeling like I'm missing something new.