My Love/Hate (but mostly Love) Relationship with Netflix

Today Netflix releases the complete third season of House of Cards. At the time of writing this, I'm still a few episodes behind, so we aren't going to talk about that today. What we are going to talk about is Netflix. This post will be something of the rant form, but also something of a list as I share various thoughts I have about Netflix in no particular order.

I will start by getting my few pet peeves about Netflix out of the way so we can move on to the things I love about Netflix. My biggest irritation with Netflix is the randomness of the "You may also like" feature. I have a problem with this for two reasons. Firstly, the Netflix matrix fails to take in to account how many times you watch a given show. For example one time I watched ONE episode of  Gossip Girl for a class project and then for MONTHS on end Netflix kept spamming my home page with "Because you watched Gossip Girl" notifications. That was one time, Netflix. My second problem is with this feature actually accurately predicting what shows you will enjoy. I think one time Netflix suggested I would like Family Guy because I liked Breaking Bad. My point is not whether or not a person who likes Family Guy also likes Breaking Bad. My point is that the shows are too different in genre and format for Netflix to be crossing that boundary. However to Netflix's credit, 90% of the time when they think I'll like something, I will like it (even if it takes me years to come around). Whether this is because Netflix does a good job figuring me out or if this is because I like nearly every TV show I've watched, is still a mystery.

But those are minor complaints in comparison to the greatness Netflix has to offer. As we go forward I should clarify that I use Netflix almost exclusively for TV shows and stand-up specials. I do watch occasional movies on Netflix, but I usually use other sources and my own personal library for my movie viewing. I have heard many people complain that the selection of movies on Netflix streaming is poor. While I largely agree with this sentiment, I think the point of Netflix streaming is first and foremost for on demand TV viewing and that Netflix does very well.

Though it is difficult to say with absolute certainty, I think my favorite thing about Netflix is that it enables me to watch shows well after they air on TV. Historically I have been slow to catch on to greatness in regard to TV, but this has changed. The first time I watched Breaking Bad was early October 2013... a few days after the finale aired; I first watched Doctor Who in March of 2013... midway through the seventh season. But through the magic of Netflix I could binge watch my way to being relevant with the times in a few short weeks. Nearly every show I love on Netflix I didn't watch when it first aired, but Netflix gives me the chance to show up late to the party but not miss out. This goes for everything from The Office to Arrested Development. I know about all my favorite shows because Netflix lets me show up late to the party, but still feel fashionably late. For example I am only know finally beginning to see the greatness of Mad Men, but with Netflix I am still confident that I'll be current with the rest of the world by the show's return in April.

 Another thing that I deeply love about Netflix is dedication to stand-up comedy. I was largely oblivious to current good stand-up until I discovered Jim Gaffigan a few years back. From there I watched more Gaffigan on Netflix and began a speedy journey from one stand-up special to another discovering favorites like Aziz Ansari, Dimitri Martin (no longer on Netflix), Mike Birbiglia and John Mulaney. In recent months Netflix has taken this one step further and is now a main producer of these specials. I love that move for two reasons: 1. I get more great stand-up specials in my life; 2. Netflix shows that they care about the future of comedy. I am even more likely to watch stand-up specials of people like Chelsea Peretti and Iliza Shlesinger only because Netflix produced the specials.

This transitions nicely into my final main topic of Netflix original TV shows. Like most TV shows, I was slow to get on board with Netflix TV because House of Cards was really slow at first and Hemlock Grove was an epic misfire. But I gave House of Cards and Netflix time (due largely to the greatness of Kevin Spacey) and they both came around. Now I give any Netflix original show the benefit of the doubt until it proves me wrong. And I think this 2015 year will not disappoint. Netflix has many shows in store like the Tina Fey and Ellie Kemper comedy The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Bloodline, tMarvel projects Daredevil and A.K.A Jessica Jones, Wet Hot American Summer (with almost all the original cast),  adult animation in the form of F is for Family and season 2 of BoJack Horseman, a Wachowski sci-fi thriller called Sense8, House of Cards season 3, Orange is the New Black season 3 and many others. As you can see Netflix has a lot riding on this year, but I think most of these will be hits. Expect to hear more about these shows in the coming months.

Many other random things I love about Netflix include: good British TV that I would otherwise never see, the excitement of knowing what day a season is being added to Netflix, re-watching, binge watching, the fact that they save my place even years later, sophisticate taste profile that is very rarely wrong, the fact that everyone has Netflix and many more. If you couldn't tell, I really love Netflix. It is a source of nearly endless joy and happiness in my life. That's all until next time. I'm going to go watch House of Cards now.