5 ms·

> There are now three genres of programming: prestige, drek, and children's. This is something I've been feeling for awhile but haven't managed to articulate t

> There are now three genres of programming: prestige, drek, and children's. This is something I've been feeling for awhile but haven't managed to articulate this clearly. All new programming is either a mega-budget tentpole or it's something to fill out the menus.

ethbr0 5y ago
I think of that as "Look at all the new shows Netflix has" -> "95% of new Netflix shows wouldn't have been funded under the old model, because they're bad"
- jfengel 5y ago
  Most of them aren't so much "bad" as "of narrow taste". They certainly look awful to me, but Netflix isn't just throwing money away. They've got a ton of data on what people want to watch. Somebody is watching this dreck. Some of it is genuinely a failure. Funding an entertainment project is always a pig in a poke. Even promising things sometimes just flop. But streaming makes it possible to lower the opportunity costs of those flops, so they can take bigger chances.
  - ethbr0 5y ago
    I say "bad" in the sense that Transformers is bad. In the sense that an F-22 is used for CAS / bombing in The Tomorrow War (which I'd assume was one of Amazon's better funded efforts). A lot of them just feel like "Oh, you just gave some money to people, removed the usual checks and balances that exist in filming, and told them to deliver a movie ASAP." It'd be one thing if they were making niche or more interesting content, but it feels like they're mostly just making more action movies and baking shows... faster and at lower quality.
    - kyriakos 5y ago
      > A lot of them just feel like "Oh, you just gave some money to people, removed the usual checks and balances that exist in filming, and told them to deliver a movie ASAP." Describes Red Notice by Netflix
- WalterBright 5y ago
  I've been sort of watching "La Brea" thinking this show is pretty bad. Then I'll watch some sci fi made-for-TV movie from long ago, and that'll be far worse. How does one even write lines like: "We need to work together!" "I won't give up on you!" It's like an AI bot wrote the dialog.
  - jessaustin 5y ago
    Are you subjecting yourself to this sort of punishment for more than a few minutes at a time? b^)
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      I have a sort of morbid fascination to see just how bad it is going to get. The thing is so ripe it would have been easy to take the next step and make it a sly comedy.
  - ethbr0 5y ago
    tunes up his banjo To the laaaaand of the Lost (lost, lost, lost)... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9GdOJbi_c https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9GdOJbi_c
- porknubbins 5y ago
  There was a time when Netflix shows seemed to be almost made by algorithm or big data- as if someone said like 32-37 year olds love detective shows with angry but smart main characters. My sense is its gotten better with more quality and less quantity lately though.

ethbr0 5y ago

I think of that as "Look at all the new shows Netflix has" -> "95% of new Netflix shows wouldn't have been funded under the old model, because they're bad"

jfengel 5y ago
Most of them aren't so much "bad" as "of narrow taste". They certainly look awful to me, but Netflix isn't just throwing money away. They've got a ton of data on what people want to watch. Somebody is watching this dreck. Some of it is genuinely a failure. Funding an entertainment project is always a pig in a poke. Even promising things sometimes just flop. But streaming makes it possible to lower the opportunity costs of those flops, so they can take bigger chances.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  I say "bad" in the sense that Transformers is bad. In the sense that an F-22 is used for CAS / bombing in The Tomorrow War (which I'd assume was one of Amazon's better funded efforts). A lot of them just feel like "Oh, you just gave some money to people, removed the usual checks and balances that exist in filming, and told them to deliver a movie ASAP." It'd be one thing if they were making niche or more interesting content, but it feels like they're mostly just making more action movies and baking shows... faster and at lower quality.
  - kyriakos 5y ago
    > A lot of them just feel like "Oh, you just gave some money to people, removed the usual checks and balances that exist in filming, and told them to deliver a movie ASAP." Describes Red Notice by Netflix
WalterBright 5y ago
I've been sort of watching "La Brea" thinking this show is pretty bad. Then I'll watch some sci fi made-for-TV movie from long ago, and that'll be far worse. How does one even write lines like: "We need to work together!" "I won't give up on you!" It's like an AI bot wrote the dialog.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  Are you subjecting yourself to this sort of punishment for more than a few minutes at a time? b^)
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    I have a sort of morbid fascination to see just how bad it is going to get. The thing is so ripe it would have been easy to take the next step and make it a sly comedy.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  tunes up his banjo To the laaaaand of the Lost (lost, lost, lost)... https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9GdOJbi_c https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6c9GdOJbi_c
porknubbins 5y ago
There was a time when Netflix shows seemed to be almost made by algorithm or big data- as if someone said like 32-37 year olds love detective shows with angry but smart main characters. My sense is its gotten better with more quality and less quantity lately though.