I used to be Netflix’s ideal viewer: the type who bought into the hype, tracked the trailers, and streamed a new release on day one. I would wax lyrical about a show on social media and blitz through the episodes just to avoid spoilers. I was the quintessential early adopter, a viewer who helped generate buzz and served as a massive tick on a corporate engagement metric.
But no more.
Now, I refuse to watch shows the moment they drop. Instead, I opt to wait for a formal renewal before watching even a single minute of the first episode. Cynical? Perhaps. But I am simply sick of getting burned by an industry that treats its audience as mere data points on a spreadsheet.
Why should I invest my time and energy into a new series that might vanish after one season? Why willingly invest in a story destined to have a beginning and a middle, but no end? I choose to do neither. Instead, I sit tight, ignore the hype machine and take a more measured approach to my viewing habits.
This shift boils down to two main reasons.
1. I no longer trust that a show won’t get canceled
Streaming services have trained me to expect betrayal. In television, few things are more frustrating than learning your favorite show — one you’ve invested weeks, months, or even years into — has been axed with zero warning or explanation. It recently happened with "The Boroughs," the elder sci-fi drama that Netflix canceled after just one season, despite it hitting No. 1.
As viewers, we are left in the dark, forced to assume the numbers just didn't add up on a spreadsheet someone, somewhere, is using to decide a show's fate. This metric-driven approach completely nullifies the time commitment and emotional investment of the audience. To discover a show has been canceled after one season without a proper conclusion is incredibly frustrating. It’s even worse when a show has run for several seasons, leaving long, complicated character arcs forever unresolved.
Because I’ve been burned by sudden cancellations once too often, I’ve jumped off the hype train. It is simply better to wait until a show is safely renewed for a second season before diving in feet first.
2. The hype around new shows has become intolerable
Netflix now hypes its new releases to ridiculous levels, and I’ve grown tired of the inevitable letdown. Every premiere is marketed as a “must-watch masterpiece,” a “groundbreaking series” or the next “cultural phenomenon.” In reality, even the best new shows are usually just good — worth watching if the genre, creator or cast appeals to you, but rarely revolutionary. Yet, the moment the hype cycle ends, everyone stops talking about them and immediately moves on to the next big thing.
For a time, I bought into it all, believing the grand claims made by streaming platforms and their acolytes on social media. After all, there’s joy in believing that the show debuting next week might rival all-time greats like "Breaking Bad" or "The Sopranos."
The problem is that reality rarely lives up to the marketing. The first season of "Squid Game" came close, but subsequent seasons dropped off significantly. "Stranger Things" debuted before the hype machine reached its current, suffocating peak, but its later seasons certainly suffered from the weight of oversized expectations.
I’m done with the modern watercooler moment, where everyone is driven to stream the exact same show at the exact same time, only to discuss it ad nauseam via podcasts, thinkpieces, and memes. It feels entirely artificial. By opting out, I can bide my time and watch a show when I want to — well after the renewal announcement and long after the exhausting hype has died down.
