Whether you're into bingeing the latest thriller miniseries or taking guilty pleasure in a new reality show, Netflix has become a top option for catching up with your favorite series and discovering new ones. Its wide variety of content has helped make it the most popular streaming service on the planet, with 222 million subscribers globally. But now, Netflix says that it will be getting rid of some of its most popular offerings by the end of the month. Read on to see what will change when you go to stream on March 1.
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Netflix is losing all six of its original Marvel TV series at the end of the month.
ShutterstockNetflix has announced that it will be losing all of the original Marvel TV series it has produced since its partnership with the comic company began in 2012, the blog What's On Netflix first reported. Spokespeople for the streaming service who wished to remain anonymous later confirmed to The Verge that Netflix's license for the content expires on Feb. 28, meaning that the programming will no longer be available as of March 1.
The shows leaving the service include all seasons of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher, and the limited series The Defenders. In total, the removal will see 160 episodes dropped from Netflix.
It's not clear where the shows will move to when they leave Netflix.
Shutterstock/Ivan MarcDespite confirming the shows' departure from the streaming service, it is unclear where the series will end up for future viewers to access. While some speculate that Disney—which has owned Marvel comics since 2009—could potentially move the shows to its own Disney+ streaming platform, others have argued that the particularly mature content of the shows may mean they could end up elsewhere, such as the majority-Disney-owned Hulu, Syfy Wire reports.
The move signals the end of a decade-long partnership between Marvel and Netflix.
ShutterstockThe lapsing contract marks the end of a decade-long partnership between the streaming giant and the comic powerhouse. After first inking a deal to produce shows in 2012, Daredevil was the first Marvel Television project to premiere on Netflix in 2015. But even with the success of the subsequent shows and miniseries, all six of the projects were canceled by 2018 as plans for Disney's own entrance into the streaming service world became apparent.
In 2018, Bob Iger, then CEO of Disney, laid out the company's plans to bring its properties back more closely under its own control. "We are fully committed to not only bringing the product to market and making it a long-term success. It has to be the destination for all Disney stuff, and that means ultimately weaning ourselves of our product being available any other place except for our linear channels," he said during an earnings call.
Netflix has lost other popular shows as new competing streaming services have launched.
ShutterstockAs anyone who subscribes to Netflix knows, this is far from the first instance of popular content being dropped or taken away from the service's lineup. In 2017, the streaming platform faced a similar situation when Disney began to take back its catalog of movies that it had initially provided to the service. In addition, iconic 90's sitcom Friends was also dropped from Netflix when HBO Max was launched, popular workplace comedy The Office was forced to decamp for Peacock when the NBC platform was released, and various Star Trek series are now being moved to Paramount+, Rotten Tomatoes reports.
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