Netflix Turnaround: Despite Layoffs, The Future Is Bright For TV’s Biggest Streamer
If there's one thing that is abundantly clear, it's that Netflix can't be stopped.
It's always on the tips of tongues, whether it's the controversial (and irksome) crackdown on password and account sharing, the particulars of how it may have had a role in the dual Writer/Actors strikes, or the near-constant outcry over its many cancelations of beloved series.
Love or loathe it, when it comes to discussing modern-day viewing of content, Netflix is at the forefront of all discussions.
Netflix Layoffs, What Does It Mean?
And that's why the news about the streamer facing yet another round of layoffs had many pondering what it meant for them and how it would influence their favorite shows and content.
Rest assured that as unfortunate as those layoffs were, they won't impact any of our beloved series or films.
As part of a "restructuring," the streamer let go of some people from its film division and will organize things based on genre in its department.
It's just another move to aid the streamer in maintaining its status as a juggernaut in the industry.
In short, it has minimal impact on the streamer and seals what we've already seen: that the future has never been brighter for them.
Netflix Is In No Danger Of Slowing Down
Despite the many shifts and changes over the years and the onslaught of criticisms lobbed at the streamer for many reasons, Netflix is in tip-top shape.
The streaming giant averages about 260.28 million subscribers globally, and with its devotion to both acquiring the rights to some of the best series and films and pushing out fresh, new, original content, it continues to rake in more subscribers by the day.
It pushes them to the top of the pack, contributes to how they dominate the video streaming industry, and sets a precedent for all the others.
Of all the streaming monopolies, Netflix doesn't show any signs of slowing down.
Netflix's Original Programming Continues to Serve it Well
There isn't a time of the season when a Netflix series isn't part of what we used to describe as "watercooler conversations."
Netflix comes in hot with its original, exclusive content and creates massive hits contributing to streamers' success and continued upward trajectory.
We're on the cusp of a new season of Bridgerton, one of the streamers' best franchises that has served it well, thanks to the deal they struck with Shondaland Productions.
As we know, anything that Shonda Rhimes touches virtually turns to gold. The highly-anticipated third season of Bridgerton is a perfect example of this.
And as much as fans have lamented the split season restructuring Netflix has done, we also have to acknowledge how ingenious it has been, particularly for some of the biggest series.
For starters, it keeps the conversations going, drawing out the process of tuning into the series, giving us the best of both worlds in combining the broadcast television weekly format and the streamer's propensity for bingeing.
It also means they can capitalize off those big hits for much longer rather than being a flash in a pan that fizzles out over time.
Netflix's book-to-television adaptation, Virgin River, is also a massive hit for the streamer and has to be one of its biggest and most successful series.
The type of content tops the charts for weeks on end. Given the chronic issue of series getting canceled in their prime far too soon, it's promising and a feat that speaks to how successful it is and how valuable it is to Netflix that the series is headed into its sixth season.
In committing to a commercial success series with lasting power, Netflix is ahead of the game and will remain as such.
Viewers are obsessed with the love story between Mel Monroe and Jack Sheridan.
While there are often concerns about a show's longevity because the longer one is on the air, the more expensive it is to create, and thus, the greater the danger it faces of coming to an end, the projections for Virgin River are strong.
Thus, that speaks to how strong Netflix is presently and how confident they are in the content they continue to produce.
We also see something similar with Outer Banks, another commercial success for the streamer that only increases in popularity and acclaim rather than dwindling.
During the last stretch of the season, we saw just how invested the streamer is in this series based on how much time, devotion, and money they put into promoting the heck out of it.
And the series landed an easy fourth season renewal ahead of the inarguably mediocre but still entertaining third season.
Netflix Hits Its Stride, Carving Its Space in the Reality TV Landscape
It's utterly wild when one realizes how Netflix casually eased into the reality television realm and produced some of the most buzzworthy series as a result.
It can rival the lifestyle meets the trashy reality of Bravo and, subsequently, Peacock while also producing some addictive comp reality game shows that give Paramount's The Challenge a run for its money.
Netflix managed to capitalize on the success of one of its biggest global hits, the South Korean sensation Squid Game, to produce the buzzworthy Squid Game: The Challenge.
And dropping each installment in a weekly format, similar to what we've come to expect from the basic cable to which we're accustomed.
Related: Streaming is Dominated By a Handful of Shows. Is There Room For Bigger Players?
Selling Sunset is just as juicy and holds its own with the Real Housewives franchise.
Love Is Blind leads the pack with guilty pleasure reality dating, or rather marriage in this instance, series that leave viewers gossiping to their heart's content, along with series such as Too Hot to Handle.
Expanding Popular Franchises Only Promises More Success
We touched on it before regarding the Shondaland series; Netflix's ability to expand upon some of its most successful and marketable franchises only bodes well for the streamer's future.
Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story not only held up to the quality and triumph of its sensational predecessor, Bridgerton, but in some ways exceeded it.
Not to mention, as a spinoff telling its own story, it expanded to a broader audience and thus brought in more viewership to the original.
It's the perfect outcome for extending a series when it broadens viewership and increases, bringing more eyeballs to other works.
We'll also see things fare with Virgin River following suit with the announcement that a prequel is in the works that will tell the love story of Mel's parents.
The Virgin River Universe Will Expand with a Spinoff Proving Romance Isn't Dead
Words can't describe how smart and creative it is to continue to build a series, even if it's simply a mini-series out of storylines introduced on a show.
This means that the original series doesn't have to detract from its path by diverting it into another avenue to tell a different type of story. It also means more space and time devoted to expanding on an interesting subplot.
There have even been talks of a Wednesday spinoff, and we've seen they've already embarked on them with many of the reality TV ventures.
Through this process, Netflix has a wide berth of intellectual property it can expand upon and further capitalize on for the foreseeable future.
Related: Netflix is All Over the Map with 2024 Content Strategy
And based on the constant stream of news filtering out regarding many of their plans for the future, they will continue to do so with no cap in sight.
Netflix Has Its Finger on the Pulse Acquiring Series and Riding New Waves of Success
Could anything have prepared us for the Suits Renaissance?
It's unlike anything anyone could've predicted, and it has started a fresh wave of analytics and changed the tide of the industry.
There are so many avenues to explore and discuss how a series that first aired a decade ago became a massive hit on Netflix, finding a new audience, tapping into another generation of viewers, and prompting a resurgence and renaissance that they've taken to the bank.
It's remarkable what has happened with Suits.
It's projected that Netflix added nearly nine million subscribers during its Suits quarter, releasing it during the summer amid dual strikes.
The streamer and others hope to replicate the magic in a bottle response as much as possible.
By acquiring the right type of series, Netflix puts itself ahead, and it doesn't help that they simply lucked up royally with several factors ranging from people genuinely craving Blue-Sky television, longer formats, and multi-season series.
Suits is the be-all and end-all of the acquisitions, but other series that Netflix has taken up aren't anything to sniff at.
We've seen medical dramas like The Resident and New Amsterdam find new success and expand to a far larger demographic via this streaming platform, despite their initial accessibility on Hulu and Peacock during their runs.
This Is Us' release on Netflix has trended for a long time, possibly initiating a rewatch podcast with some of the cast.
Onboarding full series that were already relatively strong on their own has served the streamer well.
Related: Why The Resident Falls Short of the Perfect Netflix Binge Watch
And because of that success, we can likely expect them to continue pursuing the rights to many of the best series that television offers, as well as some underrated gems to continue this second-wave phenomenon that they've managed to corner the market on.
Even Netflix's venture into live programming is making it unstoppable.
With deals struck to acquire the rights to live stream WWE Raw, the first move for this phenomenon in the 31 years it has existed.
Bringing something as massively grand and commercially prosperous as wrestling to the streaming platform is just another surefire sign that the behemoth that is Netflix is a monopoly that adapts to the times and demands with a future full of possibilities, potential, and promise.
Over to you, TV Fanatics. How are you feeling about Netflix and what its future looks like? Are you going along for the ride?
Let's hear it below!