USA TODAY International Edition
End of ‘Cards’ marks end of an era
Netflix’s growing influence shifts model
Netflix is dead. Long live Netflix. This weekend marks the end of an era for the omnipresent streaming service, with the debut of the final season of “House of Cards.”
Canceling “Cards” and “Orange is the New Black” (its seventh and final season is due in 2019) officially closes the streaming service’s first chapter of programming, five years after it began.
It was an era when Netflix sought a handful of high-quality, high-talent series to lure new subscribers. It was the era when the Kyle Chandler-starring “Bloodline” and the Wachowski sibling extravaganza “Sense8” were among the service’s top offerings because of their pedigrees alone. It was a time when we thought Netflix was just trying to become HBO.
But that was 2013. And maybe 2014 and 2015. In the week ending Nov. 2, Netflix released eight new projects, including documentaries, comedy specials and movies, more than any breathing human could likely watch in a weekend. When the Emmy nominations were announced this summer, for the first time, Netflix had more nods than HBO.
Almost from the moment it began unveiling original programming, Netflix changed TV. It started quietly with shows like “Lilyhammer,” but Netflix’s big coming-out moment was “Cards,” a drama about a ruthless politician directed by Oscar nominee David Fincher and starring Kevin Spacey (then a powerhouse celebrity). It became a phenomenon. Not long after, prison dramedy “Orange“made its debut, looking, sounding and feeling like nothing else on TV, including a cast with a wide range of races, body types, socioeconomic statuses, gender identities and sexual orientations.
Sure, both shows have declined sharply in quality, which would seemingly warrant cancellation, but the reasons for their demise go beyond just their age: Netflix now has so many other options that scratch the same itches.
The streaming service has spent hundreds of millions to woo Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy from TV networks. Want politics? Netflix has also signed Barack and Michelle Obama to a production deal. It has dark dramas and anti-hero shows by the dozen, from “Ozark” to “The Punisher.” It won 23 Emmys this fall (tying perennial leader HBO), plus SAG Awards and Golden Globes aplenty.
When Netflix launched original programming, it needed big, buzzy shows to make noise. But the streaming service is now one gigantic monster, hoarding hundreds of big, medium and little shows that cater to every possible interest. Netflix’s brand is everything, and its audience is everyone. “Cards” and “Orange” represent a tiny sliver of that vast canvas.
So here’s to “Cards” and “Orange” and the revolution they helped begin. It has been a wild five years. It’s both exciting and terrifying to wonder what will happen in five more.