It’s hard to argue with the success of the fourth season of “Strange Things.” The Netflix hit has returned straight to the hearts of the audience, and its great impact is felt around the world. Hell, they got Kate Bush back on track and, according to various reports, helped her earn $ 2.3 million in streaming royalties following the use of the song “Running up that Hill.” It’s a piece of power. Beyond that, it seems that if you are not on the eighties train of the series, you are not in business. And although every streaming service aspires to such a successful series, for Netflix it is actually a sign of the deep crisis they have been diving into over the past year.
Since the fourth season aired, on May 27, the series has unquestionably dominated the list of the ten watched series of the streaming service. Of the last eight weeks since then, the fourth season has taken first place in six. In the two weeks she was not in the top (between the release of the first part of the season and the second part), she caught the deputies. And it’s not just her – a few days after the fourth season came up, all the previous seasons also entered the top ten list, and have not left it until now. This means that out of ten places on the list, four of them have been occupied by one series for two months. Even in these very moments, “Strange Things” is at the top of the list in 92 different countries.
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So why is this actually a problem? Because of what is not on this list. For two whole months Netflix failed to produce a similar hit, or even one approaching. In fact, it’s been a long time since we saw a Netflix original series that caught on like “Strange Things,” “House of Cards,” “Bujack Horseman,” “Ozark,” “Narcos” and other hits. In fact, the only Netflix original series that managed to gain momentum during 2022 were “Vikings: And Goddess” (also a spin-off for “Vikings”), David E. Kelly’s old-fashioned “Advocate in Test”, the “Invent Anna” mini-series and to a lesser extent , Also “breathtaking”. Not exactly the materials that are supposed to produce a glorious TV dynasty.
Yes yes, we are already used to it. Photo from the site top10netflix
And it’s not that the rest of their materials have maintained a quality standard. In fact, the prominence of “Strange Things” on the list, along with a quick look at the rest of the series that come and go, backs up a general feeling that Netflix’s original material is losing direction. The drop in the streaming service’s Emmy nominations can also be seen as further evidence of their weakening (HBO Ek. Ah, and there is also this issue with their stock plunging 35% at the end of the first quarter of the year, and a loss of 970,000 subscribers during the second quarter). Lower than forecasts, which estimated that about 2 million people would abandon.) In short, and of course with a clear connection to the growth of competing streaming services – Netflix is bleeding viewers.
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The company’s response to this is diverse. First, they have already announced their intention to put into the service a component of discounted viewing accompanied by advertisements, although it is not yet clear exactly how the advertisements will be incorporated. Second, yesterday Netflix announced an attempt to produce a new home-add option, which is currently being tested in an experiment in some South American countries. The option actually links the account to a specific house, and will allow customers to attach another house for an additional $ 3 – a kind of partial solution to the problem of sharing the service’s passwords.
These are all interesting to stressful suggestions, but they forget one small and simple thing – the content is king. If Netflix wants them to come watch them, they have to produce things that the audience wants to watch. The famous algorithm method seems to be eroding, and people are tired of seeing the same series being re-produced each time in packaging for a different audience. The Netflix generic has finally bitten the company in the ass, but they seem to be unable to wake up and realize that what will keep them subscribers is good series. If they do not wake up now, it is not certain that there will be anyone left to watch. Maybe they should bounce a message of “Are you still watching?”.