“Netflix has always had this interesting ability to get non-mainstream content to be watched by the mainstream”. - Ted Sarandos
A few years ago I was in a Hostel in central Copenhagen. It was a rainy night and as a result me on some other people where inside having a nice conversation… This would be the first time I would hear about “Netflix.” Little did I know …
A few years later I got introduced to the first Netflix original I’ve seen and it was non other than the first season of “House of Cards.”
And that brings me to the point of this article. In this time where more and more movies are just a repeated or recycled view of an already established franchise, Netflix does seem like a counter reaction to it. I do believe with all my soul that nothing compares to watching a movie in the theatre. The experience, the audience, the commitment and it is just how the art form is supposed to be consumed. However I must admit that the ratio of quality of Netflix originals is somewhat unparalleled at the time.
So we have this huge multi national company that seems to be more concern with quality and originality than with lowest common denominators. They also seem to leave the artists alone to do their thing, usually resulting in more engaging pieces of work. Another fun fact is that for a company their size, they do seem to have a significant amount of anti establishment content.
So let’s take a look at what they are producing:
Other than spectacular “House of Cards” ( Specially the two first seasons) we have two, of what I consider, the best comedy shows ever.
“Arrested Development” (a show I still can not believe it was cancelled due to poor ratings). It was a masterful show that won all the awards, it was genius with layers and layers of jokes upon jokes. I must have seen the first couple seasons more than 10 times and still every time I see another joke I had not seen before… quite impressive. We had a show that was creative, original and innovating, all the critics and everyone I talk to loved it, it had Ron Howard as a producer ( and narrator) and It got cancelled due to poor ratings… But what happen a few years later?… Netflix took it and made one more season and they allowed the creator to change the format. The result? One more season of this espetacular show, hosted by Netflix.
“Trailer Park Boys”, if someone asks me for a comedy recommendation, I recommend “Arrested Development” and/or “Trailer Park Boys” (both now Netflix originals) It is a tremendous funny show set in low income, crime driven Canadian society. It is a must see of comedic genius and I cloud not believe they took that show and made more excellent seasons. I was already on board with the “Arrested development” revival. With the “Trailer Park Boys” he was in heaven.
But it does not end here. Another show that was very dear to me was “Lilyhammer” . A show about a American gangster exiled in Norway. The show is very funny and entertaining, every season has a different tone to it and it portrays the “surface perfect” scandinavian society in a fairly accurate way. it is definitely an unique show.
And the most recent addition to their portfolio… “Black Mirror” one of the best shows of the last years. A very, very relevant show that goes deep, deep into our society and where we are heading. It is so intense that it will make some of the audience uncomfortable. Despite being a Science fiction show it is the most relevant and contemporary one i’ve seen in a long time. It was like I was they really took all the best series out there and extended their lives. Not a copy nor a recycling but a life extension…
And the list goes on:
“Easy”, a low budget series set in Chicago, about the complexities of everyday life. The show is created by Joe Swanberg one of the founders of the “Mumblecore” movement. A cinematic movement defined by the extremely macro budgets, improvisation and fast execution.
“We need Netflix. We in the independent sector more than anybody need Netflix, because they care about what we do.” - Harvey Weinstein
They got the The Wachowski Brothers to do series there.
They made “Making of a Murder” A documentary series with some a controversy that was a hit.
"The Chef’s table" One of the best shows I’ve seen about cooking.
“Narcos” A series everyone is talking about.
"Stranger things" What seems to be the event of the year.
They have tons of specials from stand up comedians.
Even the Marvel cinematic universe that people seem to complain about, the three series they have have been very well received.
There is “Marseille” a french language political drama. Personally I don’t think it comes close to the first two seasons of “house of Cards” but still it is a rather politically complex series in a foreign language. With Gérard Depardieu by the way.
They started making movies too such as “Special Reporter” and “ Beast of no Nation”
They have documentaries about “Keith Richards”, “The Grateful Dead” and many other topics.
What is going on?
Maybe it’s just me and the fact that they took some of my favourite shows…. and it seems that I am the Executive responsible for their original content. But I think no one can argue with the fact they are making quality sows and Movies.
I heard they just created a huge facility dedicated ti their original content right in hollywood in the middle of all the studios. Let’s see what that means. They even revolutionised the way we see Tv shows. Instead of waiting for an episode every week they give you all of them and let you choose how you see them. Again personally I could not agree with this philosophy more.
“Clearly the success of the Netflix model, releasing the entire season of 'House of Cards' at once, proved one thing: The audience wants the control. They want the freedom. If they want to binge as they've been doing on 'House of Cards' and lots of other shows, we should let them binge.” Kevin Spacey
Tonight I will watch “Mercy” a Netflix Original Film. It does look pretty cool. And I will post a review here.
Let me know what you think of all of this?