When Netflix announced its plans to get into the original content game it was met with near immediate and unanimous excitement. However as the actual programs themselves began making to air there were mixed reactions. Lillyhammer was mostly a dud House of Cards was a critical and Emmy darling that never crossed over into pop culture relevancy Arrested Development was met with mixed reactions from fans and Hemlock Grove saw a mostly negative reaction upon release. However one show did manage to break through the glass ceiling that is Netflix viewership and spread into cultural relevancy as well as critical praise Orange is the New Black. Now on the day of the show s second season premiere we look back at Netflix s existing slate and ask a very important question will the digital distributor have another hit like Orange is the New Black ever again
The women s prison set series broke a lot of conventions upon its premiere mainly in the arena of cast equality. But the fandom of Orange is the New Black isn t just about social relevancy it s about entertainment value. Instead of taking a grim dour look at the world like House of Cards and Hemlock Grove have Orange is the New Black pushed the premium cable desires of its network to the side and forged its own path. While it may take place in the very real unforgiving setting of prison Orange is the New Black is a dramedy at heart and this is what turned it from a simple series into a cultural icon.
Unfortunately Orange is the New Black is only one example in a group of over a half dozen shows that managed to achieve this standing. While Netflix made waves for being the first digital entity to push heavily into original programming much of that goodwill has been lost over the years and there needs to now be a serious discussion if the network can still achieve its once high standing. That is of course if Netflix cares about that standing in the first place.
For Netflix it doesn t matter how many Emmy nominations a show gets how harsh or praise worthy the critics are or how many tweets come through. All that matters is how many subscribers sign up for the service with the sole purpose of watching a given program. No one should kid themselves into thinking Netflix doesn t have a viewership goal in mind for every one of their original series and if one reaches that goal it can consider itself safe for another season on the digital platform. For Netflix achieving cultural relevancy means far less than the amount of subscriber income sitting in the bank account.
As the television model continues to evolve it s going to start becoming a real question of how much and how many numbers lead to relevancy. Game of Thrones has only recently started tracking above three million viewers an episode yet it remains one of the most talked about programs in the medium. Could Netflix have another Orange is the New Black hit in them Of course they could in fact it could come sooner rather than later if either The Wachowski s Sense8 or Marvel s Daredevil take off in 2015. But for the moment Orange is the New Black remains as the services only break out hit among its slate of programming. Whether or not that makes a difference to the kind of programs the service puts into production is anyone s guess at this point.
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