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In the past month, around 40 new TV shows and movies were added to the popular streaming website, Netflix. Almost double of that amount were taken off the site.
The rave for Netflix seems to be increasing at LHS; even teachers like Christee Joesten, have been noticing its popularity.
At the beginning of the school year, Ms. Joesten, a math teacher, asked her students to write down a list of three things they like to do in their free time. After looking at what most students are doing these days, Ms. Joesten realized that most students wrote, “watching Netflix.”
“Oh my gosh, yes, all the time. Students are always talking about Netflix,” Ms. Joesten exclaimed after mentioning that she does not have a Netflix account.
An explanation to the addiction could be that Netflix constantly adds new TV shows and movies to keep viewers on their toes and wanting more.
Looking at the new additions to Netflix, most students may notice “101 Dalmatians” (1996), “Friends”, the complete series (1994-2004), “Mean Girls” (2004), “Bad Boys II” (2003), “Cast Away” (2000), “Dallas Season 3” (20012 series), “Election” (1999), “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (1998), “French Connection” (1971), “Fort Bliss” (2004), “Shall We Dance?” (2004), “To be Takei” (2014), and “Wayne’s World 2” (1993).
“They keep adding seasons to Grey’s Anatomy, which makes me very happy,” mentioned sophomore Jessica Lanty when the new shows were added.
The Netflix addiction is often seen in high school students; however, Ms. Joesten clarified that they’re not the only ones watching Netflix these days.
“You know, I notice even people in their 20s are going home and watching Netflix,” noted Ms. Joesten.
Another teacher in the math department, Ms. Lisa Ligmanowski, would agree that it can be addicting, especially when you get hooked on a new TV series.
“My favorite show of all time is ‘Friends’! I have the all the DVDs, but now that it is on Netflix it’s quicker than finding the right disc. I can watch each episode thousands of times, quote all the lines and I still find myself laughing out loud!” proclaimed Ms. Ligmanowski.
Knowing that Netflix is so popular now, many people must have been upset to see that some of their favorite shows and movies left the site as the new year began.
Shows and movies like “Backdraft” (1991), “Bad Boys” (1995), “The Breakfast Club” (1985), “Happy Gilmore” (1996), “Hitch” (2005), “Love Actually” (2003), “Mighty Ducks” (1992), “My Girl” (1991), “The Parent Trap” (1998), “Rocky”(2004), “Saved!” (2004), “Spaceballs” (1987), “Titanic” (1997), “Hannah Montana” (2006), “Suite Life of Zack and Cody” (2005), and “Suite Life on Deck”(2008).
Out of all these shows and many more leaving, students seem to be upset about seeing “Hannah Montana,” “Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” and the “Suite Life on Deck” expire.
“That was my favorite TV show (Hannah Montana), and now I can’t watch it,” expressed sophomore Grace Lynch .
Sophomore Chloe Zwirn added, “…and they took off the Suite Life! (Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Suite Life on Deck).”
Seeing new shows will hopefully compromise for the sadness many have for the shows that have left.
Netflix will also be adding new shows as the year continues. Looking into the future, Netflix users will see many new shows coming in the month of Feb. These shows include “Earth to Echo” (2014), “In Secret” (2013), “The Fluffy Movie” (2014), “White Bird in a Blizzard” (2014), “Richie Rich” Season 1 (2015), “RoboCop” (2014), “Hawaii Five-0” Seasons 1-4 (2010), “1,000 Times Good Night” (2013), “Open Windows” (2014) “Russell Brand: Messiah and Complex” (2013), “Ralphie May: Unruly” (2015), and “House of Cards” Season 3 (2013).
Seeing all of these new shows appear on Netflix has users questioning, how does Netflix have enough room for all these new shows? The answer is simply that Netflix is removing so many shows to keep a nice balance in space on the website.
Netflix sends emails to members that updates them on the new shows that have been added. However, members never receive emails to notify when shows are about to be taken off.
As Ms. Joesten mentioned that she does not have a Netflix account, she added that she watches most of her favorite TV shows and movies off of On Demand offered with Comcast. Like Netflix, On Demand allows users to watch the provided TV series and movies at any time.
One difference seen in On Demand compared to Netflix is that Netflix users pay $7.99 a month to stream their favorite shows and films. With On Demand, users pay a certain amount for a specific movie or show when they want to watch it.
Now that shows have been taken off of Netflix, how are people going to finish watching their favorite expired shows?
“Look for other ways to find the shows…like find it online or On Demand,” noted Ms. Joesten as a solution to this new problem.
