I think one thing Netflix has seriously underrated is the idea of Network Reliability, especially in regards to serialized shows. When an audience starts a show, they have to have faith that it is going to be followed through on, that it’s going to get a good ending, that it’s not going to get screwed over by the companies producing it. Where there is public mistrust, people are reluctant to get attached to new shows. Where there’s good faith and follow through, you can build a good rapport with your viewing base. No network has a perfect Network Reliability factor, they’ve all made missteps and due to the sheer sizes of audiences it was impossible to please everyone, but up until these last few years Netflix was up there with the best. Unlike older channels, they hadn’t had time to build up an archive of fan backlash, cancelled shows, mishandled character arcs, and executive mandated bad choices. That was one of their big selling points! They were supposed to be better than the old fashioned cable networks. They were supposed to be different.
Now Fox and HBO and TBS are doing the exact same thing they are in terms of diversity (ie: looking for more of it) and Netflix is cancelling several of the exceptional shows that really made it stand out from the crowd. They’ve jeopardized the sense of “don’t worry, we’re better, we’ll take care of you” and that’s going to hurt their television offerings going forward. If they’re going to act like all the other networks, we’ll have no choice but to treat them like one. It’s going to be a lot harder for me to get emotionally invested in their next, big, ambitious drama because of how messily and suddenly they ended Sense8. No one likes a nasty surprise, or an open ended story. For many people, their reliability factor just dropped and unless they can figure out how to change the game to better take care of viewers and follow through on shows they’re never going to be anything more than Moderately Mistrusted Television Network 2.0.
A Middleground 