When Netflix first launched in 1997, it seemed like a bizarre, overly-complex concept-- renting DVDs by mail that you had to select from a website, having to wait for them to be shipped to you, and then having to take them to an actual mailbox when you're done? So much work! Why wouldn't you just cruise on over to Blockbuster instead, where you could actually browse physical movies and bring home the title(s) you wanted right then and there? Plus, who even had a DVD player in 1997?
By 2010, Blockbuster had filed for bankruptcy, and the idea of having to go all the way to a store to rent movies rather than just having them sent to your house is what was now the "strange concept." And even that was soon considered something of an archaic notion once streaming became a viable option for most American households, as people preferred the ability to just watch movies and TV shows on demand without even having to fuss with physical media or a wait of more than a few moments.
Today, Netflix is available throughout the world, in all but four countries (North Korea, mainland China, Syria, and Crimea). What started as a novelty rental service has become interwoven into the very fabric of pop culture. Netflix even now produces its own movies and TV shows, many of which earn mainstream awards.
But nothing as big or as ubiquitous as Netflix is without its share of skeletons in the closet.
25 Blockbuster Passed On Buying It
Let's get the Blockbuster bashing out of the way up front here, as we still have a soft spot for the chain and have fond memories of renting movies and video games there when we were growing up. Looking at a queue on a screen will never have the same feeling as browsing the bright, dense aisles of a brick and mortar video store.
What's especially tragic about the Netflix juggernaut taking down Blockbuster is that the two companies could've existed side-by-side, with Netflix just being a division of Blockbuster. In 2000, when Netflix was still growing and Blockbuster wasn't even yet at its peak, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was willing to just sell off Netflix to Blockbuster outright for a mere $50 million-- and Blockbuster passed!
Today, Blockbuster is on its last gasps and Netflix is worth billions.
24 Binge Watching Is Bad For Your Health
This probably isn't a huge news flash, but it's still worth sharing as it's something that most of us are guilty of-- and far more often than we probably care to admit. But binge watching, which is when you consume huge blocks of a TV series in a single sitting, isn't the healthiest choice a person can make.
Binge watching might be even worse than you realize.
According to one study, your risk of premature death doubles if you watch even three hours per day. What makes Netflix streaming so much worse than regular TV is the lack of commercials, so people are less motivated to get up and move around at various points. And if you do get up during a binge session, make sure it's to get a little physical activity in-- not just to get a snack and a sugary beverage.
23 It'll Lose Its Disney Content Soon
The biggest thing that one streaming service has over another is exclusive content and it's a constant battle between Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, et al over which service gets what exclusives.
Currently, Netflix is the go-to service for fans of Disney movies-- and brands that Disney owns, like Star Wars and Marvel-- as it has more "free" Disney content than anyone else. However, that's going to begin to change in 2019 when Disney launches its own streaming service, which will eventually be the home for all past, current, and future Disney-owned content. Any theatrical Disney movie releases in 2019 and beyond will be saved for its own service and whatever content Netflix currently has will be taken away within the next couple of years.
22 The John Stamos Takeover
Netflix likes to have a little fun with its customers on April Fools' Day, with pranks ranging from the subtle to the very elaborate. In the debut year of the now-annual tradition, in 2013 the service added ridiculously specific categories to the menu like "TV Shows Where Defiantly Crossed Arms Mean Business!" on April 1st. Other years have included things like a 20-minute video of just bacon frying, joke PSAs warning against binge watching, and a fake "live stream" featuring actor Will Arnett.
However, 2016's April Fool's Day joke was all about John Stamos. In addition to categories like "Movies That Make John Stamos Feel Emotions," there was a very convincing trailer for a documentary about the actor called John Stamos: A Human, Being featured prominently on the main page that day.
21 Twinning
Actress Laverne Cox made history in 2014 when she became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy Award for acting via her role on Orange is the New Black. Her character on that show is also transgender and there is an episode that flashes back to her life pre-transition, when she was still living as a man.
As luck would have it, Cox didn't have to undergo a complex transformation to play the role.
Cox has a twin brother, rapper M Lamar, who agreed to play the role of Cox's character Sophia before she transitioned. Most viewers just thought it was either Cox herself in the role or an actor that they found that looked an awful lot like her. Nope, it was her own real-life brother!
20 The Kremlin Isn't A Fan
Other countries seem to have a complicated relationship with American businesses and services opening within their borders, denouncing them but still not being able to resist patronizing them. It's not unlike Americans own love/hate relationship with them, raging against the evils of "giant corporations" as they tweet from their iPhones while sipping a Starbucks beverage.
Still, it isn't often that a country's own governmental body speaks out against an American business-- especially while at the same time also allowing it to exist there. Even though Netflix is available to Russian citizens, the Kremlin's minister of culture levied some harsh accusations at the service, saying Netflix was just a plot by the White House and the CIA to "creep into every television, and through that television, into the head of every person on earth." Yikes!
19 It Poached Black Mirror
It's become a common practice among streaming services to snatch up TV shows that terrestrial television has cast aside, hoping that fans of series such as Arrested Development and The Mindy Project would follow their favorite cancelled shows to Netflix and Hulu, respectively. However, the catch is that the show actually needs to be cancelled elsewhere first, or at least on the verge of it.
In an unprecedented move, there was one show Netflix grabbed before it was actually cancelled.
Sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror had already aired for two seasons on Britain's Channel 4 when Netflix swooped in and took the show for itself, despite Channel 4's desire to bring the show back for a third season. It was the first time a streaming service ever took a show away from a TV network that was going to renew it themselves.
18 Jerry Seinfeld's Nine-Figure Deal
Speaking of Netflix helping itself to other people's property, the service also recently acquired a program that had previously been another streaming service's original.
Crackle might seem like a weird place for a legendary comedian like Jerry Seinfeld to have his own series, but in 2012 Netflix wasn't yet the original content juggernaut that it is today. At the time, Crackle just seemed like the best fit. Sadly, after declining viewership combined with the ascent of Netflix as a location for top-notch original content, Seinfeld decided to leave Crackle behind and take his Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee over to Netflix in 2017-- and Netflix reportedly wrote him an astounding $100 million check for the privilege.
The deal included not only a brand new season, but having all previous nine seasons move from Crackle over to Netflix.
17 They Listen To Their Fans
When Netflix's original content was still slim pickings, it seemed like just about everything was guaranteed to get several seasons. For example, did you ever watching Lilyhammer? Do you know anyone who did? Have you even heard of it? Well, it lasted three seasons nonetheless, just for existing.
Now, Netflix has gotten a LOT pickier with show renewals.
One of the casualties of Netflix's higher standards is Sense8, which was cancelled after two seasons despite strong critical reception and a devoted fanbase. In fact, so devoted are its fans that they launched a campaign to get the show back, including an online petition, social media campaigns, and even good ol' fashioned phone calls to Netflix. The company was impressed by the outpouring of support and agreed to let Sense8 return with a feature-length finale to properly wrap the show up.
16 Bright's Extensive Makeup Work
While not Netflix's first original movie, Bright was definitely its first foray into trying to emulate the budget, scope, and talent of a major Hollywood blockbuster. Enlisting the directorial talents of David Ayer (Suicide Squad, Training Day) and starring A-lister Will Smith, Bright didn't win over many critics, but it was a huge hit among Netflix users.
Smith's co-star, Joel Edgerton, definitely got a taste of just how ambitious and Hollywood-like a production Bright was. The actor, who plays an Orc, had to spend four full hours in makeup for each day of filming in order to achieve his character's distinct look. Stunt coordinator Rob Alonzo told Men's Journal that Edgerton was always professional and never even complained about the lengthy and tedious process.
15 Pirates Are Tastemakers
Ever wonder how Netflix decides what movies and TV shows it should acquire for the service? In a perfect world, it would offer everything, but that obviously isn't realistic-- so the company has to strike a balance between what it can afford, what isn't exclusive to another service, and what people actually want to see.
Is there a better way to gauge what's popular than by seeing what people are stealing?
Kelly Merryman, Netflix's Vice President of Content Acquisition, has admitted that the company checks popular torrent sites in order to see what the most-pirated movies and TV shows are, and then goes about trying to acquire those for Netflix. The logic goes that people will be more likely to legally watch something on a service they only pay 11 bucks a month for rather than go through the trouble-- and risk-- of stealing it.
14 The House of Cards Pay Gap
We won't get into the most obvious behind-the-scenes controversy surrounding the acclaimed Netflix drama House of Cards, as we are all fully aware of said controversy and the fallout that resulted from it. But it turns out that the show was home to some other-- although admittedly less-scandalous-- drama that also involved the show's embattled male star.
Robin Wright claims that she was told outright that her and co-star Kevin Spacey would be receiving identical paychecks for their work on the show. However, she later discovered this not to be the case and had to do her own investigating to discover the truth. Considering what ended up happening with Spacey and Wright now being the sole lead for the show's final season, it's safe to say that Netflix is now probably paying her whatever she wants.
13 It Simulates Its Own "Cell Towers"
Netflix realizes how important it is for people to be able to access their service on mobile devices, especially given how many of its customers may have access to a mobile data network but not at-home WiFi. And the company goes through great lengths to ensure that viewers have an optimal Netflix viewing experience on their phones and tablets.
Netflix actually has a dedicated "director of mobile streaming."
The man behind that job, Scott Ryder, told Variety that the company has built an approximation of six cell towers within its Los Gatos offices. The idea is to constantly test a variety of devices in a variety of conditions to make sure that every single Netflix mobile user's individual technological needs are being met at all times, all across the world.
12 The Forgotten Co-Founder
Given the stories behind the formation of Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, and others, it almost seems like it's a requirement when you're starting your own tech company that someone-- often the person who actually had the original idea, or at least did the most work to make it a reality-- gets shafted in the process.
Netflix is no different, as its co-founder, Marc Randolph, has been largely forgotten and is even often omitted from official company bios and histories. Randolph even goes so far as to claim that Reed Hastings, current Netflix CEO and the other founding father of the company, is dishonest about the company's origins and disproportionately gives himself more credit than he deserves for coming up with the idea for Netflix.
Is it really so hard for two people to form a tech company without one double-crossing the other in the process?
11 The Get Down Was In Development For A Decade
Among the first Hollywood filmmakers to bring an original project to Netflix was Baz Luhrmann, best known as the writer/director behind Moulin Rouge and 1996's Leonardo DiCaprio-led adaptation of Romeo + Juliet.
Returning to his musical roots for the first time in 15 years, Luhrmann's Netflix project was the ambitious The Get Down, an epic series detailing the origins of hip hop music in late-1970s New York. In fact, Luhrmann claims that he spent 10 of those 15 years working on The Get Down, and it certainly shows in the series' lavish production and scope. The show received mixed reviews and was ultimately deemed too expensive in relation to its viewership, so it wasn't renewed beyond its second season. It's definitely a disappointingly brief life for a project with such a lengthy gestational period.
10 It Was Promoted By Its Own Competition
A lot of things have led to the decline of physical retail stores that specialize in selling movies over the last few decades, from the increase in online shopping to the tough-to-match prices of big box stores like Wal-Mart. There's also no question that one of the worst things to happen to specialty movie stores is customers' growing preference for the price and convenience of renting and streaming movies via Netflix. Remarkably, those same stores actually promoted Netflix in its early days.
Despite the fact that Netflix was getting into the same business and would eventually play a big part in their demise, stores like Suncoast and Sam Goody not only had in-store advertisements for Netflix, but their employees were even encouraged to sell customers Netflix prescriptions! Imagine being forced to sell the very thing that was soon going to put you out of a job.
9 Stranger Things Lawsuit
While Stranger Things seemed to initially arrive on Netflix with little promotion or fanfare, it ended up being a word of mouth success that has since become one of the service's most popular shows. It has made its creators, a sibling team known as The Duffer Brothers, one of the hottest creative teams around.
Unfortunately, they may have stolen the idea for their breakthrough hit-- at least, that's what filmmaker Charlie Kesser alleges in a recent lawsuit. Kessler claims that he spoke to the Duffers about an idea for a potential movie that contained many elements of Stranger Things, and that those ideas were then stolen without his permission and without giving him credit. The Duffers' lawyer has called the claim "completely meritless." I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this all shakes out.
8 It Has $20 Billion Of Debt
It would seem obvious that Netflix is a profitable company, given that they have enough cash on hand to constantly pump new TV shows and movies onto their service, even spending over $100 million on a single project in several cases. Actually, a lot of that money has been borrowed.
In fact, in an article last year, it was revealed that Netflix has accrued $20 billion-- yes, billion-- in debt that it borrowed to produce much of its original content. The saying goes that you have to spend money to make money, and that is Netflix's current plan of attack. And while it seems to be working out for them thus far, time will tell if Netflix's idea to borrow exorbitant amounts of money to fund its long-term plans will ultimately pan out.
7 Top-Secret Warehouse Locations
Given how quickly Netflix seems to receive the movies you send back to them and get the next one to your door, it's almost like the company has a processing facility in every neighborhood of every city that is home to its users.
You really could live within walking distance of a Netflix warehouse and not even be aware of it.
Netflix has gone through great lengths to keep the locations of its warehouses a secret, from not including any external company signage to deliberately making the buildings look drab and unassuming. In fact, employees have to sign a non-disclosure agreement swearing that they won't tell anyone the location of their job-- they can say they work at Netflix, and what city its in, but that's about it. Netflix jumps through these hoops to prevent their inventory-packed warehouses from being targeted by thieves.
6 The "Throttling" Controversy
If you really stop to think about it, Netflix's favorite renters aren't its most active. The people who have the quickest turnaround times between movie rentals and maximize the company's unlimited-per-month setup aren't the ones the company profits on the most.
It's the people who dilly-dally with their movies that Netflix likes best.
Unfortunately, Netflix took that favoritism a little too far when it was discovered that the company was deliberately shipping movies faster to its less-frequent customers and was making its more active customers wait longer for movies. Known as "throttling," Netflix eventually admitted to using the questionable technique, and they soon added a clause to their terms of service admitting to their use of the practice.
According to CEO Reed Hastings, "'unlimited' doesn't mean you should expect to get 10,000 a month."