neiram idabellah detric
Elisa Rathrock
Todd Yellin is pretty sure his wife would have never watched Jessica Jones if he hadn't tricked her. She's not a fan of shows based on comic books, and even though he's a Netflix exec, nepotism wouldn't have been enough to make her tune in. Yet he knew she'd love it. So Yellin did what Netflix often does to woo users: He played to her interests by mentioning the strong female lead and rave reviews.
For decades, the success of a TV series had been measured by its longevity. The standard series regular contracts are for six years, which has been considered a threshold for a show to be deemed reasonably successful. Netflix might be rewriting the rulebook with a business model that involves shows often running for two to three seasons.
The Internet network also is assuring its series will remain Netflix exclusives even after their cancellation, with a moratorium allegedly built into deals that prevents axed shows from moving to a new home. That is despite the streamer readily taking in series that were canceled elsewhere, such as Lucifer and Designated Survivor.
The Crown was bought by Netflix as a six-season series chronicling the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Outside of that, out of dozens of original live-action scripted series launched, only three have gone beyond three seasons. One is the reliable awards contender Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which ran for four seasons, earning a slew of major nominations. The two others are multi-camera comedies done under a different business model: Fuller House, which will end after five seasons, and The Ranch, which has been renewed for a fourth season. (Hit drama Narcos was wrapped after three seasons and succeeded by a new series, Narcos: Mexico.)
For the most popular shows, like blockbuster hit Stranger Things, renewals are a no-brainer as each new season is an event, driving viewership and subscriptions. (Being owned by Netflix, Stranger Things also is a money maker for the company, with auxiliary revenue streams such as theme park attractions and merchandising, including Halloween costumes.)
The same goes for the number of seasons. If a show has not broken out in a big way during its first couple of seasons, there has been chatter that Netflix does not see significant growth potential beyond Season 3 (and sometimes beyond Season 2) as viewers tend to move on to the next hot new show in an overcrowded TV universe.
More than 200 titles are unavailable to watch on this subscription like Paddington, Oblivion and all of Daniel Craig's James Bond movies. But Netflix lets you know which ones are off limits by marking them with a lock symbol and a note: "Unavailable on Basic with Ads due to licensing restrictions." Back in October, the company said it's working on it -- meaning the absence of titles -- so be aware that what's limited today may not be in the future. When I clicked on the tile for a locked show or movie, I received a sales pitch urging me to upgrade to an ad-free plan. Though it's an upsell, it's convenient if you really want to watch a piece of content in that moment. Paywall be damned!
Upon sign-up, I noticed Netflix automatically created a Kids Profile on my account, which I guess is because I clicked on a few animated selections while I curated my new account's main profile. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because there aren't any commercials for content under the kids' profile.
While the Kids Profile is ad-free, regular profiles have some ad-free content too. Plenty of animated shows and movies do not include commercial breaks, and there are select titles -- family-friendly and beyond -- that you can watch without interruption.
Examples include Avatar: The Last Airbender, Community, The Sea Beast, The Christmas Chronicles and Good Witch. The Bodyguard had a preroll ad, but no ads during the rest of the movie. Are you wondering whether it's better to stream something on the kids' profile to avoid ads? Not necessarily. So far, I haven't been able to find any animated titles with commercials. The same goes for Nickelodeon shows like Victorious and iCarly.
I'll warn there's really no way to tell which series or films lucked out, but if you start playback, just look for the yellow dots on the progress bar to see how many commercial breaks to expect. Like YouTube, those dots will either be scattered or nonexistent.
You may want to know if the streamer skips ads for its own branded content, or at the very least slips in a smaller amount. Short answer: No. Netflix does not give preferential treatment to its own content. Your favorites like Stranger Things, The Witcher and Cobra Kai all have ad breaks, but the amount and frequency varies.
When I streamed Enola Holmes 2 -- which was released on Nov. 4 -- there was only a 30-second set of commercials before the film and no ads during the movie. Netflix announced that new films would not feature ads, so this was unsurprising. Season 5 of The Crown, however, kicks off with five ad breaks... including a preroll.
When Netflix outlined its ad program, the streamer explicitly stated that we'd see 4 to 5 minutes of ads per hour of content. This is accurate. During a one-hour episode of Love is Blind, I encountered a 30-second round before the show started and three more breaks during the episode. The first commercial break was 75 seconds long and had four ads. The second break had three ads that ran for 75 seconds, and the final round lasted 75 seconds with three ads. That brings the total to just over 4 minutes.
Shows like Supernatural and Jane the Virgin had a preroll and three, 60-second ad breaks in the middle of their 40-minute episodes. Altogether, that's three-and-a-half minutes. For shorter TV show episodes like Cobra Kai and Naruto, there were three ad breaks: one 30-second spot before the show started and two in the middle that lasted for 60 seconds. That's 2.5 minutes. A two-hour movie like Mr. and Mrs. Smith had an ad break before the film and four more throughout that lasted for 75 seconds each.
As far as ad variety, I powered through at least 20 TV shows and movies on this Basic with Ads plan. The commercials were from brands like Discover, Chipotle, Garnier, Experian, M&Ms, Boar's Head, Chevrolet, Prada and Tiffany. While I didn't see the same ad twice during an episode or movie, I began to see the same ones daily or when I watched a different title.
Among the top titles on the platform this week are 2022's The Bad Guys and The Secret of the Greco Family. Both are unavailable on this plan, and if you're a fan of Labyrinth or Knight Rider like me, those are also off the table. If you have kids, they won't be able to watch Sing 2, Gabby's Dollhouse, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts or a slew of DreamWorks shows, including the Tales of Arcadia series. Guess what else is blocked? Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous and Minions & More content.
Couple the missing content with commercial breaks, and the $10 Basic plan could be looking like a better deal. Why? You get access to Netflix's full catalog on the higher-priced subscriptions, plus you won't be tempted to succumb to Flo's push to get you to switch to Progressive or Beyonc's musical campaign for Tiffany & Co. While the ads aren't beating you over the head in length or repetition, spending the extra $3 to go ad-free could be the way to go.
Part of the joy has been watching its young stars grow, but the adults evolve marvelously too, particularly Winona Ryder and David Harbour, who bring gravitas to the proceedings. Season 4 is currently in production after last season expanded the scope beyond the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. It can't arrive fast enough.
Aziz Ansari's wry, ruminative, artistic tale of an Indian-American actor dating, eating and accessorising his way through New York City was a sensation upon its release in 2015, then it disappeared for five years following its Italian neorealism-inspired second season.
This year, it returned, with Ansari behind the camera instead of in front and focused on Lena Waithe's supporting character, Denise, as she hunkered down with her wife in the countryside. The narrative shift was jarring, but also a beautiful character study, proving that Ansari's gift for storytelling extends well beyond the semi-autobiographical.
Kimmy Schmidt will help fill that 30 Rock-sized hole in your DVR and leave you wishing you had Tina Fey as your therapist. Crafted by Fey and brought to life by the perfectly-cast Ellie Kemper, chipper Kimmy comments on modern society with the innocence of a child and the experiences of an adult (an adult locked in a bunker for most of her life, that is) to make you wonder just how we let some things in the world get so weird.
This Ava DuVernay miniseries about the 1989 Central Park jogger case was much anticipated and very well received, earning Jharrel Jerome, one of the many cast members, an Emmy for his work. The series tells the true story of the five suspects falsely accused of assaulting and raping a woman in Central Park. The show was accompanied by a special, Oprah Winfrey Presents When They See Us Now, that also drew a lot of attention.
Based on the eponymous 2014 film, the series centers on several African-American college students at Ivy League school Winchester. Each 30-minute episode zooms into a single character's story, poignantly touching upon race relations and issues. The fourth and final season of the show is set to premiere some time this year.
This British dramedy is gearing up for its third season, and has likely been Netflix's most surprising win. Focusing on a socially awkward teenager and his sex therapist mother (a stellar Gillian Anderson), the series has been praised for its subtle sense of humor and extreme sex positivity both commercially and critically. Not often does British humor so effortlessly translate to American laughs, but Sex Education has managed to cross-over thanks to its warm heart, John Hughes-inspired high-school antics and anything-goes approach to the awkwardness of teen sexuality.
90f70e40cf