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Laila Berri
I finally turned 30, which means I\u2019ve started asking myself the big questions: When do I want to have kids? Will I ever own a house? And what will I do if my parents tell me it\u2019s time to get my own Netflix plan?
Things like Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Prime are services I was young and lucky enough to get grandfathered (daughtered?) into, because my family used them when I was still under their care and financial support. Despite the fact that I\u2019ve now grown up, moved out, and earn my own money, I still find myself texting my mom \u201CWhat\u2019s our HBOMax password?\u201D every few months, and hoping this never inspires what may now be inevitable.
In a recent interview, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters revealed that Netflix will start asking everyone who shares a password to start paying for their own accounts. He didn\u2019t get into particulars\u2014does this mean Netflix will eliminate the plans that support multiple devices?\u2014but a declaration like this almost certainly means other platforms will follow suit.
Netflix had a bad 2022, and the economic situation in 2023 isn\u2019t great, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a coincidence that this threat coincides with the first generation of \u201CNetflix children\u201D having well and truly grown up. The only problem is, according to around 30 respondents of a survey I shared on Instagram and Twitter, nobody has a plan for what to do about it.
\u201CMy dad will sometimes try to reset the password on my accounts, which I ignore,\u201D one 31-year-old shared. \u201CHe also will download random (free) apps to their Fire Stick that I get the receipt for. He once enrolled my Amazon account in a free trial of Paramount+ through Amazon channels, even though I already have and share Paramount+ with them (I canceled the trial before it charged me).\u201D
\u201CRe: Spotify \u2014 we had a family account and my mom canceled it without realizing me and my brothers used it, resulting in an extremely stressful morning of listening to ads and being unable to skip through my playlists,\u201D a 26-year-old wrote. \u201CMom says all three kids called her within minutes of each other.\u201D
\u201CI forgot that I had access to my mother\u2019s account for about 8 years,\u201D a 32-year-old wrote. \u201CRecently a new browser just logged me right into my old old profile on her account. She now will comment on some of my viewing habits in sometimes judgemental ways.\u201D
\u201COne time I was trying to log into my dad\u2019s HBO while setting up my dating profile on my phone at the same time and I accidentally put his email into my dating profile \u2764\uFE0F,\u201D said a 27-year-old.
I have a bit of an adversarial feeling about streaming services. There is a conscious and profit-driven slicing and dicing of things to make it so that you can't find the killer app. Amazon Prime would be a perfect example of this. The sort of creep that they've had, which is, \u2018Oh, you have Amazon Prime and you can see all these things\u2019 except an increasing percentage, you go to look at it, and it's like, \u2018No, you gotta pay for that.\u2019 It's like, wait a minute. It's following this sort of American healthcare model with companies that started out where it was like, \u2018You have all these things,\u2019 and now it's like, everything must be purchased separately. So I don't feel any sort of need to maintain integrity with these streaming services because they're out gouging us and coming up with a variety of systems to make it so you have to get everything and I don't want everything.
I\u2019m sure there\u2019s someone out there whose parents sat them down and told them it was time to fly the digital nest, but for the most part, it\u2019s just one of those things that won\u2019t get talked about\u2014until it has to be.
\u201CI don\u2019t think they\u2019ll ever kick me off,\u201D a 33-year-old wrote. \u201CMy adult siblings also share as does my cousin who is 10 years older than me and has her own kids. I was just thinking the other day that it\u2019ll be weird when my parents die and I\u2019ll have to take over paying for the streaming services.\u201D
It's late. You're in bed. And you want a little action. But not that kind of action. Try hitting up the new series starring recently crowned Best Actress Michelle Yeoh. She plays the strong-willed mother of a family of gang members whose enemies have come a-knocking. There's a lot of choreographed fighting, fun quipping, and every shade of Yeoh on the acting spectrum.
From one of the brilliant writers for the criminally underappreciated campus comedy Community comes this miniseries about a 42-year-old accounting assistant who has absolutely no idea why the impending doom destined for Eearth means her quiet little life has to change. Like Carol in the mass of hedonistic chaos around her, this animated adult dramedy is a diamond in Netflix's digital rough.
Obsessed? Same. Now that you're done bingeing Queen Charlotte and eagerly anticipating the next installment of the period drama, why not work on a little refresh? While you wait for season 3 to hit the streamer (part 1: May 16; part 2: June 13), catch up on the first two seasons. Then get ready to learn more about Penelope Featherington and her longtime crush, world traveler Colin Bridgerton.
If you haven't caught on to this sci-fi/fantasy show that's absolutely bingeable, our only question is: Why not? Natasha Lyonne plays Nadia, doomed to repeat her 36th birthday over and over again until she gets it right, a la Groundhog Day, but with less humor and more mind-blowing plot twists. Sit down to two seasons; Netflix says a third is in the works now.
Reuniting after their father's death, a group of estranged siblings sees their superpowers and a whole closet's worth of family secrets spill out. So far, the series has wrapped three seasons, with the upcoming fourth season said to be the final chapter. According to Ritu Arya, who plays Lila Pitts, season four will be the comic-book adaptation's best yet. So catch up now!
Forget the Ocean's. This French series will leave you wanting more after the first heart-pounding scene at the Louvre. A true gentleman thief, Assane Diop (Omar Sy) sets out to avenge his father who was unjustly imprisoned when Assane was a child. Taking cues from his favorite fictional criminal hero, Arsne Lupin, he steals from the rich and exposes the truth. Part three is now streaming.
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong star in this wild road-rage comedy that has more twists and turns than Mulholland Drive. They play Danny Cho, a contractor, and Amy Lau, a business owner, and their "beef" begins when the two engage in a near fender bender. The experience ends up burrowing its way into their lives in ways you would never imagine. You will just eat this one up.
The perfect romantic-yet-not-too cheesy drama finished up its fifth season last year, with a sixth season on its way. While you wait, you can catch up on all the plaid-patterned action and learn about what Mel and Jack are up to in the small town of Virgin River. Should you need more rom-coms while you mom-mom, check out our list of shows like Virgin River.
If you haven't caught this CBC show on Netflix yet, sit down and stream it tonight. Set in Canada, it's the story of convenient-store-owning Korean immigrants and their first-generation adult kids living in Toronto. Based on a play by Ins Choi, its subtle humor balances out the show's more serious themes, meaning you'll laugh, cry, scream, and feel all the other feels.
Guaranteed you have never heard of this chilling Aussie gem. About a group of dead people who claw their way back to life from six feet under, Glitch is a genre-blending series that will blow your mind. No, those who have risen are not zombies. And, no, they are not ghosts. But, yes, they are back for a reason. Their journeys to find out why will keep you hooked.
Politics are a dirty game. But on The Diplomat, they're also completely absurd, ridiculous, and gloriously silly. Keri Russell stars as the titular ambassador and handles every bonkers plot twist, from international crises to marital exploits with skill and grace. Bless her. Catch up on season 1 now, because the next chapter is on the way, most likely hitting the platform this year.
Don't have MAX? No biggie. Netflix now has every season of Insecure (and Girlfriends, for that matter) for your streaming pleasure. So when you're done watching Firefly Lane on repeat, treat your viewing queue to Issa Rae's hit comedy about a group of twenty-somethings navigating love, life, and friendship in Los Angeles.
Follow the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, a riveting and well-built monster hunter for hire as he journeys toward his destiny in a fantasy-based world where people are often the scariest beasts of them all. And as if spending late nights with Henry Cavill weren't reason enough to hit play on the adventure series, knowing that eye candy Liam Hemsworth is joining the cast for season 4 certainly is.
An ambitious 20-something lands her dream job as a marketing exec in Paris. And the City of Love does not disappoint with three seasons of romance and adventure finding Emily on every corner. Season 4 got a bit delayed due to the 2023 writers' strikes, but worry not, word is new episodes of Emily, her friends, her lovers, and her wildly inspirational fashion choices will be out this year.
What happens when a picture-perfect, stay-at-home mom breaks bad? Good Girls. Part Weeds, part Breaking Bad, this series is a dark but fun fantasy escape that will draw you in from the first episode. In a stroke of horrible prime time decision making, the network canceled the series ahead of season five, but that doesn't mean you won't thoroughly enjoy all four seasons streaming now.
Okay, yes, Ozark is a lot of fun. But odds are, you've seen Jason Bateman and Laura Linney boss up as money-laundering pros in the Ozark Mountains. So, queue up this thriller with links to the cartel instead. It stars Sofia Vergara playing against type in a queenpin role that will have you doing a double take. Drugs, money, motherhood, talk about binge-worthy. Look for it on January 25.
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