Netflix: My 2023 Wish List
I watched less Netflix in 2022 than in any previous year, but I suspect it’s more a function of other streamers managing my attention better than a lack of Netflix programming that I want to watch.
There’s plenty on Netflix I want to watch — Cobra Kai, The Recruit, The Lincoln Lawyer, Buying Beverly Hills, the new season of Big Mouth — but I go long stretches where I don’t watch anything on Netflix because I’m watching longer stretches on HBO Max, Hulu, Apple TV+, Disney+ and YouTube.
Why? There were more movies and shows on those streamers that got my attention and more product features that kept my attention. What I want from Netflix in 2023 is to find new approaches to getting and keeping my attention.
Here are six suggestions:
1. Weekly Release for Big-Deal Shows
Netflix execs have said for years that binge-releasing shows is what subscribers want and is a core element of the streamer’s DNA. OK, fine. Netflix said the same thing about ads before launching an ad-supported tier. Markets change. Companies adapt.
Weekly release of water cooler shows like HBO Max’s The White Lotus and Disney+’s Andor generate Vulture recaps, TV podcasts, explainer videos, etc., that binge releases simply do not. Stranger Things would get more attention over a longer period if Netflix released the episodes one week at a time.
With Netflix already splitting the most recent seasons of popular shows like Stranger Things and Ozark into two chunks, it’s not a huge leap from there to weekly release.
One way for Netflix to strike a balance between the binge releases its subscribers are accustomed to and the weekly releases that would drive more sustained engagement would be to program its biggest shows weekly — one right after the other, HBO-style — and stick with binge releases for everything else.
Netflix could event-ize those weekly titles — branding them as Netflix Select or Netflix Night, giving them a prime-date (vs. midnight) release, and launching a weekly companion show and podcast with a TV-credible host like Chris Hardwick to interview the stars and drop breadcrumbs into the weekly discussion.
2. Buy AMC Networks; Keep the Good Parts
Speaking of Chris Hardwick, the longtime host of Talking Dead on AMC, Netflix should buy AMC Networks, which owns cable channels (AMC, BBC America), streamers (Acorn TV, Shudder), and distributes shows that have long streamed on Netflix (The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul).
The big prizes here are Shudder (horror movies) and Acorn TV (British shows), which would give Netflix an immediate jolt of titles in two important viewing niches. The cable networks would give Netflix a second window for its older titles and a new marketing outlet for newer ones.
Netflix could buy AMC Networks for a pittance and sell off the cable networks to private equity if it doesn’t want to be in that business. AMC has been hit harder than other media companies by the decline of cable, and the Dolan family that owns a controlling interest in the company may be ready to cash out while it still can.
3. Commentary, Deleted Scenes, etc.
I don’t recall ever seeing director’s commentary, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, etc., on Netflix. The company A/B tests a lot of product features, so it’s conceivable that Netflix already knows that subscriber interest in those features is low.
I say serve the subscribers who are interested. Film studios like Sony, which has an output deal with Netflix, already produce these bonus features for the Blu-ray release, and Apple TV already incorporates them in iTunes Extras. Netflix should do the same.
4. Bring Back ‘Ultimate Beastmaster’ — Live
Netflix reportedly bid on the streaming rights for Formula 1 racing to pair with its massively popular F1: Drive to Survive docuseries, and the company recently announced that its next Chris Rock standup special will livestream on March 4. I’m glad to see Netflix experimenting, but the novelty of livestreaming a standup special — do you really care if the next Ali Wong special is live? — will not last long.
Avoiding the exorbitant cost of an NFL or NBA package is understandable, but I’d love to see Netflix adapt its own franchises and develop new franchises where there would be meaningful stakes to watching live.
Competition reality shows like The Circle and Love is Blind would gain some urgency and social-media currency as live shows. The Floor is Lava makes perfect sense. As a sports franchise, I’d love to see Netflix bring back Ultimate Beastmaster and really sports it up — a defined season, player rankings, outreach to sports media, etc.
5. Add Podcasts to the Phone App
Netflix makes a lot of podcasts, but none have been breakthrough noisemakers on the level of HBO Max’s The Official Game of Thrones Podcast, and none are available on Netflix’s phone app. With AI and notifications, podcasts on Netflix’s phone app could become a significant engagement tool.
Imagine watching two episodes of Emily in Paris in your living room on a Tuesday night and then seeing a notification for the companion podcast on your iPhone the next morning when you start your drive to work. Or getting a notification a week before the new season of Stranger Things that there’s a 30-minute audio recap of the previous season.
Netflix could also make audio originals within its own franchises — like Bridgerton or Big Mouth short stories between seasons — or as a way to introduce new scripted or docuseries podcasts that Netflix could grow into their own franchises.
6. Play Nicer with TV Platforms
Netflix had streaming to itself for so long that its TV app grew up as a walled garden and has largely stayed that way. You turn on your TV, you launch Netflix, and you watch Netflix. Much of what you watched on Netflix — and streaming in general — came from Netflix recommendations.
Today you have a lot more streaming choices than Netflix and smarter TV platforms — Samsung, Fire TV, Google TV, Apple TV — recommending shows to watch, but Netflix has been slower than other streamers to aggregate into those platforms. Netflix has resisted because it doesn’t want to be flattened into one of many streamers, but the reality is that Netflix is one of many streamers.
The overriding reason I watched Netflix less in 2022 is that it’s not as well integrated into the TV platforms I use most — Apple TV, Google TV, and Samsung — as other streamers are. There are no Netflix recommendations on Apple TV or Google TV, and Netflix shows do not track on Apple TV’s “Up Next,” Google TV’s “Continue Watching,” or Samsung’s “Continue Watching” rows.
Netflix should compete with HBO Max and Hulu for my attention on the strength of its catalog; it’s losing on inertia.