Sick of scrolling Netflix for something good? You’re not alone

Netflix is in a slump. Audiences know it, and so does the streaming giant. The proof? People with very big offices are getting sacked.

Netflix, which has approximately 325 million subscribers globally, recently fired its chief content officer Bela Bajaria and head of film Dan Lin, along with about 1000 other staff members (6 per cent of the company’s headcount). The two were the most senior programming voices at Netflix. Canning them is a very public way of saying that change is on the way.

Netflix has always considered itself a tech company, disrupting traditional network and cable television, which meant that it lived – and in this case, died – by what the data said. Bloomberg recently reported that viewer engagement was down, which is anathema for a Silicon Valley company predicated on growth. Subscribers are opening Netflix fewer days per month, and spending less time on the platform when they do.

Streaming analysts have all manner of explanations for what’s going on, some of which is tied to Wall Street and the slumping Netflix stock price, which has dropped 44 per cent in the past 12 months. But Netflix’s malaise starts on the platform’s home screen. The company’s signature “tudum” sound effect still raises expectations, but the reality hasn’t been so good this year in terms of scripted content.

Bajaria’s stint, which began in January 2023, has been notable for the sheer breadth of content produced. Her mission, which she successfully carried out, was to flood Netflix with options. Quantity was the byword, followed by quality. Netflix, which sees YouTube as its true rival, wanted to be a one-stop shop for viewers so true-crime documentaries, reality shows and live events joined a revved-up roster of genre-friendly series, plus a slew of original movies.

For the most part, it paid off. Netflix had a knack for releasing the unexpected show of the moment, some of which came from an international operation that Bajaria astutely empowered. South Korea gave us Squid Game, while Britain produced Baby Reindeer and Adolescence. These shows provided welcome contrast to American blockbusters such as Stranger Things, Bridgerton and Wednesday.

There was no sign 2026 was going to be any different. Netflix actually had a hit straight out of the gate in January, with the Tessa Thompson and Jon Bernthal crime thriller His & Hers, a limited series so enjoyably pulpy, but played with a straight face, that I christened it “prestige trash”. But after that, the pickings became sparse. Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, Big Mistakes, Man on Fire and Detective Hole were all noteworthy misses.

Of course, Netflix is large enough that you can still construct a contrary list of successes: critics adored Vladimir, Legends was a British period crime drama done right, and for 10 days in March everyone was talking about Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere. But the hits looked like bright punctuation amid a slew of misses. A promising show, such as the Duffer brothers’ science-fiction adventure The Boroughs, was barely out before it was cancelled. And nothing came close to blockbuster status in the post-Stranger Things era.

By the middle of this year, Netflix had a new issue. A host of previously popular and well-reviewed Netflix shows, from the fine (The Four Seasons), to the great (Man on the Inside), to the exceptional (Beef), returned with second seasons that missed the mark and/or had substantially fewer viewers. The backbone of Netflix’s scripted programming was shaky.

There have been some positive signs lately. The Australian office contributed the spiky charm of My Brilliant Career and Florence Pugh delivered a mighty showcase in the period drama East of Eden. But it was too late for Bajaria and Lin, who were very public sacrifices after Netflix’s failed bid to purchase Warner Bros Discovery. Of course, it was their bosses who had tried to make the deal, which included Netflix’s storied streaming rival HBO Max. But it did raise a tricky, self-incriminating question: what did that streaming service have that Netflix lacked?

Bajaria’s replacement, the highly respected former Fox and Disney executive Peter Rice, has already been announced. His credentials are impeccable, but Netflix has a very long turning circle. It’s not easy to change course – you can’t just declare that quality has supplanted quantity and make it so. There are 18 months of work to be done from here. Bajaria’s commissions will be coming out well into 2027.

The crux of the problem is that Netflix has tried to be a something-for-everyone destination, whether that something is 3 Body Problem or Is It Cake? The danger is that you risk satisfying no one. Its inclusiveness towards casual viewers starts with sanding off the sharp edges of some shows, and finishes with a narrative requirement that characters should say aloud what is happening so that people looking at their phones can stay abreast.

There are also structural issues Netflix needs to address. Not every show has to drop an entire season on release – some would benefit, both Netflix and the audience, by issuing one or two episodes weekly. It would also help if Netflix could get more of their series on a yearly schedule. Two very different titles that have managed this, geopolitical thriller The Diplomat and prickly rom-com Nobody Wants This, have built large and loyal fan bases with each new season.

It’s impossible to say whether all this is a speed bump for Netflix, or the new reality. After all, you only need three hit shows across three months for optimism to replace pessimism. But as it stands, less tumult and more tudum would benefit everyone.

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