Netflix has a wealth of content available and a lot of it is stellar stuff so why are they keeping some of the more questionable content?
There's a lot of shows that really just need to stop now. The TimeOut team put our heads together to pick the five we think really need to go.
Black Mirror
Siena Yates: It's no secret Black Mirror lost its touch in season four. It used to be that you would watch these episodes and be shocked and disturbed by how things unfolded. It used to be that these technological horror stories were just real enough that they hit close to home in the most terrifying ways. But by season four they'd become predictable and outlandish and sometimes barely bothered to properly weave the tech aspect in there. Between the totally unbelievable ending of Arkangel and the self-congratulatory Black Museum it just feels like it might be time to quit while they're (only just) ahead.
Chris Schulz: Yes, technically, Love is dead. This recent third season of the Judd Apataow-produced lame-com was confirmed as its last. But I'm here to argue that the entire series should be scrubbed from Netflix's streaming service all together. The first two seasons had the will-they-won't-they pull of a weird relationship between a god-awful goober called Gus and a damaged druggie called Mickey. I stuck with it, but hated myself for it. It all just seemed so implausible. But there were laughs: Claudia O'Doherty, who played Mickey's hilariously wayward roommate, was particularly great. Give her her own show, now.
But in season three, Gus and Mickey shacked up and become that annoying couple. You know, the sickly duo that communicates in baby talk and can't function unless they're together. As a result, over the three episodes of season three that I managed to watch, I've seen Gus and Mickey get sick together, go on a terrible weekend away, and fight like immature teens. So far, so dreary. At one point, Gus got caught masturbating to internet porn. At another, he exposed his left testicle. Balls. That sums it up really. Love is balls.
Real Rob
Karl Puschmann: This Netflix original series stars comedian and mate of Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider. It was created by Rob Schnieder, presumably because no one apart from Rob Schneider's mate Adam Sandler would cast Rob Schneider in anything. In Real Rob, a sitcom based on Rob Schneider's real life, Rob Schneider plays Rob Schneider. Rob Schneider's real life wife plays Rob Schneider's wife on Real Rob. Rob Schneider's real life daughter plays Rob Schneider's daughter on Real Rob.
The only person in Rob Schneider's real life that Rob Schneider has not cast in Real Rob is his mate Adam Sandler.
Now, is this because Rob Schneider is an ungrateful jack-ass who won't put the person solely responsible for his career in his show? Or is it because not even Rob Schneider's real life mate Adam Sandler will stoop as low as Real Rob?
George Fenwick: The first season of Stranger Things worked because it was one season; its tight narrative and mini-series appeal made for a television event that oozed 80's nostalgia and nailed the creepy tones of late-20th century sci-fi. But season two proved that you can definitely have too much of a good thing. The writing became hammy, the characters one-dimensional, and the plot more and more illogical as the show began to buckle under its own weight. And while the 1980s setting works for the sci-fi genre, the series makes the woefully ignorant choice to ignore major socio-political traumas of the time such as the Aids crisis. Netflix can do better than this.
House of Cards
Chris Schulz: I completely missed the boat on House of Cards, which, for a long time, was touted as Netflix's biggest and best show. But towards the end of last year, I finally made it through season one of House of Cards. I loved it. Who doesn't love a dark drama about top level political shenanigans? Then Kevin Spacey was accused of making sexual passes at a 14-year-old. Other allegations surfaced. Now, there's no way I'll watch any more of this. Thanks to Spacey, the show's tarnished, and as good as Robin Wright is (and she's very, very good) attempts at making a sixth season, sans Spacey, feel like they've already been spoiled. A spin-off featuring Wright is a better bet. Let's make that happen instead.
