After a long day of classes and work sometimes all you want to do is Netflix and chill.
No, not that kind of chill. Relaxing at home with your favorite show can be a great way to end the day or take a break from the busy day.
For some viewers, streaming is a source of frustration. “One Day at a Time” (ODAAT), a Netflix original TV show, has been cancelled. And fans are outraged.
ODAAT was a remake of the 1975 original with a Latin twist. The show focused on the lives of Penelope Alvarez, a recently divorced, Cuban veteran, and her wildly funny mother and two children.
Each episode balanced laughter and language.
The show represented various groups such as immigrants, Jews, veterans, the LGBTQ community including non-binary characters, and others.
With topics such as racism, PTSD, homophobia, the #MeToo movement, addiction, anxiety and depression, it seemed there was nothing the show couldn’t handle.
At least, until it was denied a fourth season and canceled.
Netflix announced their plans publicly through Twitter on March 14.
“We’ve made the very difficult decision not to renew One Day at a Time for a fourth season,” the tweet read.
“The choice did not come easily — we spent several weeks trying to find a way to make another season work but in the end simply not enough people watched to justify another season.”
Fans have accused Netflix of ignoring their more diverse shows in favor of promoting popular reruns or shows Netflix considers more marketable such as “13 Reasons Why.”
“13 Reasons Why” has received several negative reviews from psychologists. Where ODAAT promotes group therapy and open communication, “13 Reasons Why” portrays suicide as motivated by a desire for revenge. So why is Netflix promoting it?
Many twitter users complained of a complete lack of advertising ODAAT.
Some users have even changed their name on Twitter, such as twitter user noel#SaveODAAT.
“Maybe, just maybe, if you guys had promoted this as much as you do with other shows, it would’ve done better,” they said.
Shows representing African Americans, Latino families, and other minorities are not new to Netflix cancellations.
Baz Luhrmann’s “The Get Down”, Marvel’s “Luke Cage,” and “Sense8” are just a few examples of diverse led Netflix shows the streaming service has cancelled.
“It seems like a trend with you,” Noel said. “You don’t promote a show and then cancel it when it (surprise!) doesn’t have enough viewers.”
Netflix’s decision to license the popular sitcom “Friends.”
According to The New York Times, Netflix paid $100 million to license the show until the end of 2019, where it used to pay $30,000 per year to host it.
But the outrage didn’t stop there. #SAVEODAAT began trending on twitter and has attracted several celebrities such as “Brooklyn 99” stars Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz. Hamilton playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda has even tried to recruit other networks to continue the show.
“Hey @nbc,” the star tweeted. “I hear you like comedies with built-in fan bases that do even better on YOUR network than at their previous homes…#SAVEODAAT.”
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (going by Pwc in business), 67% of consumers are pay-TV subscribers as of 2018. This is a further decrease from 73% in 2017 and 77% in 2016. Streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are increasingly popular with consumers.
But with Netflix raising its subscriptions to $12.99 and not listening to its viewers, will the service lose its consumers?
