By Kane Casillas
The famous show’s departure is the mark of a new era for Netflix.
So no one told you? On Dec. 31, 2019, Netflix said goodbye to the wildly popular sitcom “Friends”. Next January , Netflix will also let go of the hit show “The Office” to make room for more original content. This has outraged thousands, if not millions of fans, but do we need to be that upset?
Ultimately, this decision came down to if Netflix really needed these shows to keep their viewers. I don’t think they do, anymore. Netflix has grown into a massive studio with loads of original content to their name. Since money is not a factor for them, I turned my attention to the quality of Netflix’s content and how audiences reacted to them. From there, it was easy to see people are making a bigger deal about this “Friends” situation than they need to.
To preface this, I love “Friends.” I started watching the show roughly five years ago and have been through the series a couple of times now. I’m just one of millions of fans of the show. Feelings aside, let’s take a look at the cold hard facts.
JOE reported that “Friends” was the most viewed show on any streaming service in 2018. Fast forward to 2019, however, and nine Netflix originals made the top 10, with “Friends” not even touching the top 20.
Do people just not want to watch “Friends” anymore? The answer, of course, is no; people just prefer other shows over “Friends.” Netflix has created worldwide hits with popular series such as “Orange is the New Black,” “13 Reasons Why,” “The Umbrella Academy,” “Black Mirror,” and most notably, “Stranger Things.” According to Forbes, all of the aforementioned shows landed in the top 20 most watched streaming shows this year.
Popularity isn’t the only thing Netflix has to flaunt, either. The quality of their content is hitting an all-time high. Yes, there are some bad movies and shows they’ve made (I wanted to claw my eyes out watching “Bird Box,” which ironically would have helped me survive in that fictional world), but the good has definitely proven to outweigh the bad on the streaming giant.
To further cement their status on top in this new age of streaming content, Netflix recently earned 24 Oscar nominations, more than any other studio in 2019. The show “Bojack Horseman” won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Animated Series, and “Black Mirror: Bandersnatch,” won the Emmy for Outstanding Television Movie. I’m not listing these shows just because they’re big names; they’re big names because of how good the shows are, and these nominations and awards prove it.
Netflix might also feel confident they don’t need “Friends” or “The Office” because they’re in a huge power position. Statista found that Netflix has the most subscribers with a whopping 62 million in the U.S. alone. The next highest streaming service, Hulu, has a distant 28 million subscribers in the U.S..
I am one of Netflix’s 62 million subscribers. Like many of you, I’ve seen terrible shows and movies on Netflix. But if I could sit through the dumpster fires that are “Iron Fist” or “Insatiable” (sorry, Debby Ryan) and not feel the need to deactivate my account, then I can live with “Friends” and “The Office” gone as well.
I always thought of “Friends” and “The Office” as early Netflix shows to attract viewers when Netflix was first taking off. Now that Netflix is able to support itself with original content, they can focus more on their current projects than retaining old shows . They’re such a huge company, so they can afford to lose a show like “Friends,” which is saying a lot considering how iconic the show is.
For fans of “Friends,” the show will move to HBO’s streaming service HBO Max in May, so you don’t necessarily have to say goodbye like Netflix did. Netflix saying goodbye to “Friends”, is a way to show they’re transitioning, and while I’m sad to see it go, I’m happy the classic show helped Netflix become “The One Who Made A Name For Themself.”