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Released in 2012,Lilyhammeris the first series ever to be offeredexclusively on the Netflix service. It originally premiered on NRK1, the primary television network in its home country of Norway, where it received staggeringly impressive views. Audiences outside of Norway would only see the show with a Netflix subscription. Starting in November 2022, the service will no longer carry the first original show ever to grace its library. Alongside its first original, the service’s third entry will also be leaving soon. Netflix’s moderately well-received supernatural dramaHemlock Grovewill soon be unavailable, despite it being an early starringrole for Bill Skarsgård. These shows have been available for almost a decade, but they’ll soon be much harder to find, largely due to the elements of TV production that fans hate thinking about.
The simple answer is that, despite the shows being available only on Netflix, the streaming service didn’t have exclusive rights to the programming.Lilyhammerwas made in collaboration with producers Agnete Thuland, Trond Berg-Nilsen, and Anders Tangen. The show can only be viewed in North America thanks to Netflix, but their contract amounts to a long-term arrangement that eventually reached its end.Hemlock Groveis a production of Gaumont International Televisionwith Eli Roth inthe executive producer role. The show ran for three seasons, originally eclipsingHouse of Cardsin viewership, but its gradual decline led to its unceremonious cancelation. Since the show was actually produced by Gaumont, Netflix essentially rented the series for distribution, until it was no longer profitable.
The next obvious question is whether fans can still see these shows. If a hypothetical viewer caught season one ofHemlock Grovebut never got around to the next two, can they finally finish the journey? The good news is that yes, fans can still enjoy both of these shows if they’re willing to pay for them. Like most Netflix shows,LilyhammerandHemlock Groveare available on DVD. Most people would have no good reason to buy the DVD box set of a show available on a streaming service, especially when those discscost more than a monthly subscription. As Netflix clears out its library of titles that would be tough to find elsewhere, fans can rest easy knowing that there is still an option out there.
With some early hits disappearing, fans will certainly be asking whether their favorite show could vanish from the library they’ve always been a part of. Is there a reality in which, seven to ten years from now, fans will be looking upStranger ThingsBlu-rays on eBay? Theoretically, yes, but probably not. The second Netflix originalwasHouse of Cards, which is also a co-production with MRC and Trigger Street Productions. The show was distributed by Sony, placing it firmly in the hands of another company. All six seasons of this show are still available, at least in many countries. It would seem that as long as a show stays popular and important to the service, it is likely to remain available. If big shows like these ever leave the service, it’s likely to be well over a decade after their final season premiere.
Despite the name Netflix Originals, the series that are exclusively available on the service are almost always shared productions with multiple other huge conglomerates. This is similar to the negotiations and agreements made between production companies and TV networks. Many fans ofThe Walking Deadnoticed itsprecipitous decline in quality after the first season, while shows likeBreaking Badmaintained quality for years and ended when the creators intended.Breaking Badis partially owned by Sony Pictures Television, whileThe Walking Deadis entirely an AMC production, which allowed the network to cut corners and fire the creatives who made the show good. This means that almost all Netflix shows exist with partial ownership elsewhere, running the real risk of losing the show forever. The world hardly needs a reminder of whenDaredeviland the other Marvel series left the service.
Netflix gets a lot of well-deservedpushback for canceling showsbefore they really have a chance. The company doesn’t just stop potentially brilliant art from being made, it deletes beloved work that creators spent time on from its service. There are a lot of reasons that fans are canceling their subscriptions, but imagine the backlash when someone’s favorite show suddenly doesn’t show up in their queue.
