I'm going to start by saying that I've loved and binged my fair share of Netflix originals.House of Cards is still one of the only shows that demands I sit through the entire intro because the mood and music is just too perfect. I look forward to my week in prison every summer when OITNB is released. I cheered along with my fellow never-nudes when Arrested Development was picked up for more episodes.
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TL;DR While many of Netflix's original shows are fresh and unique, these six are total flops for a myriad of reasons. It seems to me that Netflix has taken a quantity over quality stance as of late... and I'm not feeling it.
But it's pretty clear that there is a divide in Netflix's original content: some of it is carefully considered and well-crafted, the rest exists just to boast new content at an alarming rate.
13 Reasons Why
This show originally garnered a lot of acclaim for bringing to light the realities of bullying, depression, and teen suicide. However, lately the buzz is that, despite the attempt to decrease widespread bullying in teens, the show has in fact increased teen curiosity in suicide.
At least threeseparatestudies on Psychiatry Online provide proof that the show has contributed to "suicide contagion" that tends to result in copycat suicides. The first season was relatively well-recieved (was anyone else surprised they went with ahead with a second season?) but the subsequent season sits at a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Between
This very short-lived Canadian drama has a depressing 22% on Rotten Tomatoes, and to be fair, there's no question why. While the apocalyptic narrative was unique and specific, the show inevitably relied too heavily on the concept and failed to develop other integral parts of the series.
They introduced too many characters, making it difficult to engage and feel anything for the teens that are left unaffected by the bizarre disease spreading through Pretty Lake. When the government moves in to intervene, the plot becomes soapy and impossible to sympathize with.
As Reddit user Bahamut_Ali notes, "I think we can all agree that Between is f---ing terrible."
Haters Back Off
Even if you love Miranda Sings, it's beyond clear that Netflix missed the mark with this show. Colleen Ballinger tried her best to make her terribly-singing viral character a hit but the cringe factor was just too much for the average Netflix viewer (myself included). Haters Back Off is rocking a 47% on the Tomatometer for its first season and it looks like they won't bother reviewing the second. I'm honestly surprised it even made it to two seasons.
Disjointed
To be honest, this one was dead in the water from the beginning for me. Made by the same creator as The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, this show made me groan before I had even clicked it. And, considering it's legal to admit these days, I'm a self-proclaimed pothead so this show should have really been up my ally.
Even the ever-immaculate, never-wrong, always-amazing Kathy Bates couldn't save the series. Amidst the too-easy weed jokes and munchies-pandering product placement I found myself missing the clever cannabis jokes of Weeds. Also... a laugh track? Why?
Insatiable
This show gets to boast the worst-rated show on our list! With a nearly non-existant 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it's evident that Insatiable was a swing and a miss for Netflix. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes sums it up perfectly: "broad stereotypes, clumsy social commentary, and a failed attempt at "wokeness" make Insatiable hard to swallow."
Iron Fist
Marvel and Netflix together? It seemed like a good idea considering the likes of Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and Daredevil, but, alas, even a match seemingly made in heaven can't save a dry script and a cheesy premise. With an average of 37% on the Tomatometer, the second season really tried to spur some momentum but at the end of the day the action still comes off rushed and the characters unrelatable.
