The Netflix Original Series Rises Above Expectations

190 countries. 83 million subscribers. 125 million hours of TV to watch. 41.1 billion dollars.
According to Forbes Magazine, that’s how much Netflix was worth five months ago. Netflix is more than on the rise, it’s monopolizing internet streaming media providers.
Maybe it is just the near exponential growth of Netflix as a company that has led to better and better shows and films. In April, Netflix rose the monthly subscriber price from $7.99 to $9.99. In addition, they raised the more premium plan from $10 to $12.
Consumers were outraged, sending angry tweets to Netflix over the two dollar price hike. The growing corporate wealth of the company as a whole is astonishing, and their numbers rise every day. Most consumers aren’t mad enough to actually cancel their subscription, though.
Seemingly so, they weren’t actually that enraged. Research done by Time Magazine shows that even though 41% said they would cancel their subscription, only four percent actually did. Since Netflix is oh-so vital to society today, the money Netflix gains from the price increase helps improve the quality of their original series.
Over the summer, three new original shows were released; Stranger Things, Narcos and The Get Down found themselves to be the most popular among the list of shows that range from stand-up comedy to documentaries.

Graphic by Lauren Nery
Graphic by Lauren Nery

The original series are not now just becoming popular, as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards found tremendous success from the beginning in 2013. Taylor Schilling, the actress who plays the main character in Orange is the New Black, is worth 1.5 million dollars, according to the Go Banking Rates website, a website that calculates the net worth of celebrities.
On the other hand, film-makers benefit from the “Netflix standard” because they don’t have to go by what will sell in the box offices. The creative-minded film geniuses love Netflix for publishing their work, and no longer have to say they live in their mom’s basement; now they can say they’re published film makers.
More complex plots and intriguing stories come from the Netflix original series, so who cares if Netflix becomes, and is, a giant corporate mafia? At least the majority of the global population can procrastinate and find an easy way of work by binge watching originals.