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Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

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Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#341

Post by joshocar »

andrelaszlo wrote: post #238
WillPostForFood wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They were probably fooled by metrics. People were watching the crap, so it looked like crap was good enough (until it wasn’t).

Very true. They find something that's kind of amusing, then milk it until it bleeds (gross analogy, sorry...). "Nailed It", sure, I can watch it from time to time but it doesn't mean I will watch 150 other baking shows. Same thing with "Jessica Jones". I literally found articles about "The top 30 superhero shows on Netflix this year", trying to remember the name of this one. After a while you realize that the funny p…

One issue is that they don't keep writers and show runners around. Each season gets new writers so any magic there was in season one of lost in season two. The tone is the same but you lose something when you bring on me people. The do this because of the lag between seasons and the fact that they don't hire on writers, but rather contract them on a per season basis.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#342

Post by colinmhayes »

bawolff wrote: post #203
ramraj07 wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While it is a valid point, Id argue that Netflix could have survived this - they had billions of dollars to create original content, and then they did create it, but some how screwed it all up. There’s at best 1 or 2 good show and no good movie Netflix has made in years. And anything half decent they cancel mercilessly without giving it a chance. This is not just in the US. The comparison of original content quality…

> 3 Adam Sandler movies for half a billion dollars? Kind of a weird example when the adam sandler movie (uncut gems) was probably one of the few critical succeses of their recent original content.

uncut gems is not a netflix movie. It's A24.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#343

Post by unnamed76ri »

Brajeshwar wrote: post #332
55555 wrote: post #200

I’m bored of Netflix. They have simply gone the assembly line direction instead of the direction of art, at least for some big niches. For example, every True Crime docuseries on Netflix is the same crap. Once you’ve seen three, you’ve seen them all. They get each cop involved in a big empty room, sit them on a solitary chair, put a dramatic light above them, and shoot them in 4k. Then they direct it at a pace to bor…

Our family cut off all of Netflix, Disney, etc. and now I have just CuriosityStream[1] (I think after hearing it on Curiosity Daily Podcast). I watch that. Our family rarely watch TV. 1. https://curiositystream.com

Curiosity Stream + Nebula App are a great deal together.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#344

Post by danjac »

theodric wrote: post #303
andrelaszlo wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very true. They find something that's kind of amusing, then milk it until it bleeds (gross analogy, sorry...). "Nailed It", sure, I can watch it from time to time but it doesn't mean I will watch 150 other baking shows. Same thing with "Jessica Jones". I literally found articles about "The top 30 superhero shows on Netflix this year", trying to remember the name of this one. After a while you realize that the funny p…

People complain that Netflix kills shows too soon. People complain that Netflix drags shows on past their prime. People complain.

The problem is not so much whether shows are killed to early or too late, but when you blindly follow metrics to determine either way.

There are plenty shows pre-streaming that got killed prematurely (Firefly) and plenty that dragged on way past their prime (Simpsons) because of exec idiocy or internal politics or whatever that had little to do with whether the quality of the shows was good or whether they had found an audience or just needed time to grow.

I think Netflix tried to avoid that by using data-driven analysis to determine whether to keep or kill a show, but it turns out you probably need some human in the decision chain with an experienced gut. Another problem is that you don't necessarily know whether a show is going to be popular upfront, so the writers try to have a self-contained story arc within a season. If it gets renewed you end up having to awkwardly start a new arc with characters that were pretty much "done" in terms of development. This is pretty obvious with Jessica Jones and Stranger Things, both of which were arguably much weaker in their second seasons.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#346

Post by ghaff »

scyzoryk_xyz wrote: post #198

“Content is King” We all know this, Netflix knows this. And yet for some reason for years they have been aiming for quantity and not quality. Money is not enough in this department and baseball metaphors don’t do justice illustrating just how hard it is to put together a team that has that special thing going on. Some would argue it’s impossible - teams like the one behind Better Call Saul are just extremely rare and…

Nobody knows how to reliably create "quality"--the definition of which will vary by person. Take a dozen of the top quality series on Netflix or streaming services generally and I'll probably be meh on at least half of them.

Add to that the fact that for many, TV, whether streaming or otherwise, is essentially background and they'll immediately cancel your service if all they have is a relative handful of prestige must-see TV.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#347

Post by papito »

HBO is still the master of curation and talent scouting/development.

While Netflix throws tens of millions of dollars on brainless scripts and big stars, HBO diligently shepherds the material it likes to completion, with talent that is great but that will not break the bank. HBO does not use stars - it makes stars.

For all the talk of Netflix not being a family but a team, it sure does sound like their content division management is pretty "tight", regardless of results. Did they think they were going to coast on the House of Cards forever?

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#348

Post by pvarangot »

jmyeet wrote: post #314
pvarangot wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would add that "a formula" doesn't mean it's bad. I regularly drank beer since like when I was 14 until when I was like 35 or something? I do it way less now but still sometimes drink beer. My favorite style changes. Sometime I just drink a new one because like dopamine hits and I get excited about the potential novelty and discovery. But it's beer, and I think there's nothing wrong with it. From bud light to like…

Another commenter described what I meant using what I think is a more accurate term: assembly line. My point is that creating original content is a creative endeavor that doesn’t naturally scale. MrBeast is obviously successful but that doesn’t mean you can just cookie cutter another 100 MrBeasts. That’s not how it works.

I mean you probably can, but art and engineering are more of a spectrum if anything. Even if the CCP seizes all of Apples assets in China can they create another iPhone? I don't think so. If part of that is getting people to pay 1000 bucks for it.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#349

Post by dudul »

gpayan wrote: post #284

Interesting how we don't hear much about "big data" which - we were told back in 2013 starting with House of Cards [1] - was key to Netflix's success in picking new shows to produce. This part of the article is telling: >It’s why five or so years ago, anybody with a hint of success in TV (or movies) started getting a call from their rep saying, basically, “Netflix would like to write you a big check.” 1. https://www.…

I'm also very puzzled by how the quality could degrade so much. I was sure that they had cracked the "formula" to create good content via big data analysis after House of Cards.

My guess, and I have nothing to back it up other than external empirical observation, is that they didn't like what the big data revealed. The output didn't fit The Message, or The Ideology. So they ignored it. They decided to use the good ol' twitter mobs to Gaughan the success of a show/concept instead.

Re: Netflix’s bad habits have caught up with it

#350

Post by johnchristopher »

55555 wrote: post #200

I’m bored of Netflix. They have simply gone the assembly line direction instead of the direction of art, at least for some big niches. For example, every True Crime docuseries on Netflix is the same crap. Once you’ve seen three, you’ve seen them all. They get each cop involved in a big empty room, sit them on a solitary chair, put a dramatic light above them, and shoot them in 4k. Then they direct it at a pace to bor…

Maybe something like Steam Greenlit for Netflix. But as some have pointed out already Netflix is in the streaming business, not the risky content creation business.

(I still fucking miss the OA and Sense8 if you follow my comment history)

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