There are some things that you take for granted. The pizza place you order from on lazy weekends won’t run out of pepperoni. Starbucks won’t run out of coffee when you duck in on a rushed morning. Your mom won’t stop calling to ask if you have enough socks even though you’re 27 and an adult, damn it. And lastly, Netflix will always be there for you, to serve as the background setting for your leisurely Friday nights avoiding actual social interaction. The white noise to which you fold laundry. The soft sound of reruns that lure you to sleep on a drunken night.
Unfortunately Netflix isn’t like that pair of stretchy pants that always just fit. Netflix is a fickle beast. And the streaming entertainment company is shedding a substantial catalog of good movies as 2013 draws to a close, abandoning titles like Do the Right Thing and Being John Malkovich. Top Gun is getting axed. Top Gun!
A Reddit user went through hundreds of individual titles to determine their expiration dates, compiling a list of some of the most notable entries. For television, classic Canadian sketch show Kids in the Hall is going to the Netflix graveyard, as is SNL from the 2000s, the original Dark Shadows, Mr. Bean, and something called Perfect 10 Model Boxing (Volume 1). And Breakin’ 2: Electric Bugaloo is expiring, so my thoughts and prayers are with you in this difficult time.
Streaming film and TV fans used to be able to find out when almost any title was expiring easily, since sites like InstantWatcher kept up on what was coming and going. But Netflix changed its policy and stopped providing a list of expiring titles, noting “We are making this change because the expiration date can be inaccurate as a result of frequent, often last minute, changes in content flow.” However, users can still see when something is set to expire by going to individual title pages, so the Reddit user did a good (and time-consuming!) deed by doing the legwork for everyone.
Netflix loses titles every year, a result of their short-term licensing agreements. Last May, the company discarded over 1,800 titles after agreements with studios like MGM and Universal expired. It costs more money for longer licenses, and part of Netflix’s appeal is the changing lineup of viewing options, so there’s not much of an impetus to go in for the pricier deals, especially since Netflix is putting more resources into its original programming. And as sad as I am to see Titanic go (the possibility of watching saucy period-costumed Leo in his prime has always been a source of comfort), it’s a fine trade-off for another season of Orange Is the New Black.
Silver lining for those unconvinced of the merits of a dynamic entertainment lineup: plenty of the new content that will be made available in 2014 is looking excellent. According to StreamersWorld, upcoming titles include Amelie, American Psycho, and that’s just the A section. Plus, they’re not taking Dawson’s Creek away from us. Not yet.
Here's the list of notable expirations in full:
Expire January 1, 2014 (TV shows)
- Dark Shadows (original from late 1960s)
- Saturday Night Live, The 2000s
- Mr Bean
- The Kids In The Hall
- Perfect 10 Model Boxing (Volume 1)
Expire December 29, 2013
- Transformers Dark Of The Moon
Expire January 1, 2014
- The Rundown
- Brick
- Being John Malkovich
- Back To School
- Battle Of Britain
- Born On the Fourth Of July
- Braveheart
- Body Of Evidence
- Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo
- Man On The Moon
- Lionheart
- 1492 Conquest Of Paradise
- Killer Klowns From Outer Space
- Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
- FX
- Do The Right Thing
- Desperado
- Up In Smoke
- Can't Hardly Wait
- Capote
- Biloxi Blues
- Seed Of Chucky
- Jarhead
- As Good As It Gets
- In The Name Of The Father
- Inside Deep Throat (documentary)
- I'm Gonna Get You Sucka
- In Like Flint
- Hard Target
- Foxy Brown
- Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell
- Gallipoli
- Half Baked
- Flashdance
- 50 First Dates
- For The Love Of The Game
- The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas
- The Bad News Bears
- The Russia House
- The Secret Of Nimh
- Revenge OF The Ninja
- Roman Holiday
- Rob Roy
- Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back
- Remo Williams
- Requiem For A Dream
- Quigley Down Under
- Pumpkinhead
- Platoon
- Once Upon A Time In Mexico
- October Sky
- Mystery Men
- The Skulls
- Titanic
- Ronin
- Romeo And Juliet (1968)
- Tales From The Crypt: Bordello Of Blood
- Tales From The Crypt: Demon Knight
- The Woman In Red
- Top Gun
- Street Fighter
- TNT Jackson
- Serpico
- Seed Of Chucky
- Scary Movie
- Running Scared
- Troll II
- True Grit (1969)
- War And Peace
- Talk Radio
- War Games
- We Were Soldiers
- What Dreams May Come
- Windtalkers
- World Trade Center
- The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes
- The Odd Couple (1968)
- The Mask Of Zorro
- The Great Train Robbery
- The Faculty
- The Dream Team
- Best Of Times
- Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
- Species
Expire January 4, 2014
- Alice In Wonderland (1951 Disney)
- Immortals
- Dynamite Warrior
[H/T Zach Seward | Photo credit: Joshua Blount/ Flickr]