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Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services in the world. It allows you to binge watch shows with ease, and we all take incredible advantage of that. Who likes waiting for a week every episode? Can you imagine if you could watch all the episodes of Supernatural every season at once?
It’d be a ritualistic holiday, Supernatural day, where everyone just shuts their doors and disappears into Netflix for 15 hours.
Well, because Netflix is in such high demand, they always have to make certain cuts to make room for more shows. This April, we’re losing a lot, and this one’s a hit right in your heart.
We’re losing shows like the first four seasons of Bones, House, and even The Princess Bride. The Netflix gods giveth, and the Netflix gods taketh.
If you’re as heartbroken as I am about this, then you will love this list of shows leaving Netflix (Definitely not so that you can go binge watch it right now, because that’s what I’m going to do).
Ally McBeal is an American based comedy-drama with legal themes. It was originally aired on Fox and has won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series as well as an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. It balances surreal drama and excellent comedy stupendously and will be sorely missed by everyone on Netflix.
A spin-off from the critically acclaimed and fan favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is an American Supernatural drama created by Joss Whedon (Who created Buffy too) in collaboration with David Greenwalt. Angel follows a vampire, with the same name, who had his soul returned to him as a punishment for killing a gypsy. He works as a private detective while he battles his guilt and remorse for his actions and battles his human side with his vampyric side.
A satirical sitcom with dark comedy touches, Better Off Ted follows the protagonist, Ted Crisp, the single father and well respected head of a fictional, soulless facility belonging to just as fictional Viridian Dynamics. He regularly breaks the fourth wall, addressing the audience directly and welcoming the role of the narrator.
A comedy-drama film starring Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, and Sean Patrick Thomas, as well as many other actors from the original Barbershop movie. It is the prequel to the 2014 movie, Barbershop: The Next Cut.
An American crime procedural drama series, Bones is a a 12 season long show where every episode concerns Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan, a forensic anthropologist, receiving human remains from FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth and deducing what mystery it held. Bones has been running since 2005, and will finally reach its conclusion on March 28th, 2017.
A critically acclaimed and fan favourite television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer follows a “Vampire Slayer” or simply “Slayer” known as Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) who battles the forces of darkness while guided by a Watcher. Frequently listed as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
A British-American biographical comedy and drama film, the movie follows the life of the legendary comedian, Charlie Chaplin. It was one of the break-away roles of Robert Downey, Jr. and stars Marisa Tomei, Dan Akyroyd, Penelope Ann, Kevin Kline, and Geraldine Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s daughter). It was released in 1992.
A Science-fiction television series created by Joss Whedon, Dollhouse follows a corporation running underground establishments called Dollhouses that program individuals called Actives (or Dolls) to have temporary personalities or skills. The show follows a specific Active known as Echo, played by Eliza Dushku, as she makes her journey towards self awareness.
A 1986 American teen comedy movie, the film follows Ferris Bueller, a typical high-school slacker who spends a day off with Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and John Hughes (Alan Buck). Bueller regularly breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly while he explains certain techniques and his inner thoughts. It earned a whooping $70 million with a less than $6 million budget over thirty years ago today.
A Joss Whedon drama with science fiction and western themes, Firefly is an American television series set in the year 2517 where a crew of nine aboard a “Firefly-class” spaceship Serenity. Whedon pitched the show by saying “[It’s about] nine people looking into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things.” While only 11 of the 14 produced episodes were aired, Firefly earned a large cult following, clamouring for more.
A medical drama that ran from 2004 to 2012, House is a television series about Dr. Gregory House (Played by High Laurie), an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius. He often clashes with other physicians when his own diagnoses is different as his is often based on subtle or controversial insights.
Stylised as Lie to me*, this American crime drama television series centered around Dr. Cal Lightman (portrayed by Tim Roth) and his partners that accept third party requests to assist in investigations, gaining evidence through applied psychology. If that doesn’t sound fascinating, I don’t know what to tell you.
A 1993 American hood drama and thriller movie, it follows a story of a young man named Kaydee “Caine” Lawson and his friends. The movie gained tremendous notoriety for its gritty and harsh portrayal of urban violence and drug use.
A science fiction horror movie stitched together with gratuitous action sequences, Extinction is the third movie in the Resident Evil franchise, loosely based on the Capcom survival horror game with the same name. The heroine, Alice (Milla Jovovich) gathers her rag tag group of survivors and travel across desert wilderness to escape the zombie apocalypse.
Alternatively known as Rosewell High, this American science fiction TV series inspired from the Roswell UFO Conspiracy, features the story of Liz Parker and Max Evans as they gradually witness more and more of alien life and how they deal with it. It’s based on a book by Melinda Metz.
A comedy film produced by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies, the story follows a group of elementary school students who get a snow day and try to keep their school snowed in and therefore closed through various means. While it was reviewed negatively, it was a modest box office success.
A dance drama movie released in 2007, Stomp the Yard follows DJ Williams (Columbus Short) a college student in the historically black university who joins a fictional fraternity. The core of the film revolves around fraternities competing in “Stepping” competitions and features excellent dance choreography.
A DC Superhero movie about the iconic Superman, this movie was produced by Warner Bros. and was released in 1978. The film focuses on the origin Superman and is portrayed by Christopher Reeve. I don’t need to tell you what Superman is about, do I? The movie is an iconic and historical piece of cinema.
The follow up to the 1978 movie, released two years later, Superman II is the story of exiled Kryptonians who come to Earth from where Kal-El has to fight them off. It’s a visually stunning box office success.
Released three years after its predecessor, Superman III is about Clark Kent fighting off the CEO of fictional Metropolis-based conglomerate Webscoe as he tries to rule the world financially. While not critically and commercially as successful as its predecessors, Christopher Reeve was praised for his performance as the temporarily corrupted Superman.
The last and final part of the movie series, Superman IV is the only evidence you need to confirm that all good things must come to an end. To paraphrase Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, you either die a hero, or live long enough to become a commercial and critical failure and an embarrassment to an otherwise excellent movie series.
After the death of Christopher Reeve in 2004, Brandon Routh portrayed the iconic blue-eyed superhero in the 2006 movie, ignoring the plots of Superman III and IV. It paid homage to the original movie and, in credits, was created in memory of Christopher Reeve and his wife.
A 1965 American film that deals with the conflicts of Michelangelo and Pope Julius II during the historically relevant renaissance period. The film follows Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and his efforts and life as he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
A science fiction thriller about nazis and Hitler, the story follows an aging Nazi hunter post WWII as he uncovers a dastardly plot that threatens humanity and promises the return of Hitler.
A 2008 drama thriller that rose to critical acclaim, The Escapist runs two narratives, one of the preparation, and the other of the escape itself, simultaneously. Frank Perry (Brian Cox) is sentenced for life imprisonment but plans to escape after receiving a letter stating that his beloved daughter is a drug addict and on her death bed following an overdose.
A 1987 movie based on the 1973 book of the same name, The Princess Bride is a story of a farmhand Westley who quests to save his one true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck. He gets help from various people he befriends along the way, and the story is shown to be a book read by a grandfather to his sick grandson, effectively preserving the narrative style.
Stylised as the Ri¢hes, this American television series is a serious drama about a con artist and criminal family who get in a car accident with a very wealthy couple and in hopes of having a better life, adopt their identities. It’s a character study on the struggle to adjust to very new and very different lives.
A Neo-Noir 1995 mystery film, The Usual Suspects is a story of Roger “Verbal” Kint who tells an interrogator and increasingly complex and convoluted story about how he and his partners in crime ended up on a boat which resulted in a massacre and a fire. It relies heavily on narration and flashbacks, and the story becomes increasingly mind boggling as events wear on.
A small-screen phenomena, The X Files is a legendary TV series following the adventures of FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, the former who believes in the existence of the paranormal and extraterrestrial while the latter debunks his ideas through her experience as a medical doctor and a healthy dose of skepticism. The X Files spanned two and a half decades, the TV show airing from 1993 to 2002, with the 1998 feature film, a 2008 sequel, and a tenth mini-season revival in 2016.
A 2001 American psychological thriller with science fiction themes, starring Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz. Vanilla Sky is the English remake of the 1997 Spanish movie, Open Your Eyes and has been described as “an odd mixture of science fiction, romance and reality warp.”
An Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie released in 2002, the film revolves around the story of Gordon Brewer, a Los Angeles firefighter who avenges his murdered wife and son. Gordon (Schwarzenegger) travels to Colombia to confront his family’s killer, a guerrilla commando.
A 2015 psychological thriller film is a story about 50 people who wake up in a darkened room to find that one of them is killed every two minutes or when they try to escape. When they realise that they can control which person is killed, people segregated into groups sharing their personal values.
A comedy series following the life of Jim Jefferies who plays himself as a stand-up Australian comedian going about his life trying to become a successful and famous stand-up comedian.
An Australian-American comedy TV series, Wilfred stars the Lord Of The Rings actor Elijah Wood as Ryan who creates a drug cocktail in order to commit suicide but fails to do so. When he comes to, Ryan sees and hears the neighbours’ dog, Wilfred, as a man in a dog costume.
The 2002 Jet Li action movie is a story about brotherhood and unity under one heaven, to stand tall in a time of peace and stand firm in the times of war.
A comedy series following the life of Jim Jefferies who plays himself as a stand-up Australian comedian going about his life trying to become a successful and famous stand-up comedian.
A 2013 romantic Nigerian comedy, Flower Girl is a story of Kemi (Damilola Adegbite) who is desperate to get married to Umar (Chris Attoh) who in turn is dying to get his career in a better place.When their relationship is on shaky rocks, Kemi takes the help of Tunde (Blossom Chukwujekwu) to get what she wants.
An American supernatural sci-fi horror thriller released in 2015 following a group of medical researchers that have created a serum called Lazarus. It was intended to give consciousness to those in a coma but was revealed to have the ability to bring the dead back to life. The unforeseen effect of the serum is that it causes the brain to rapidly evolve and gain psychic powers and grow closer to insanity.
A comedy film starring British comedian Simon Pegg based on the novella Paranoia in the Launderette by Bruce Robinson, A Fantastic Fear of follows Jack, a children’s author turned crime novelist who has attained an unhealthy obsession with murder and murdering.
An adult animated sitcom that relies heavily on pop cultural references, American Dad! is a comedy show that garners humour not with the conventional “Setup-punchline” jokes like its sister shows such as Family Guy and The Cleveland Show.
A computer-animated comedy movie released in 2008, The Nutty Professor is a sequel to the 1963 movie with the same name, released in 2008. The story is loosely based around Robert Louis Stevenson’s always-culturally-relevant Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
A romantic comedy, romedy if you will, based on Frances Mayes’ 1996 memoir of the same name, Under the Tuscan Sun follows the story of a recently divorced writer that buys a villa in Tuscany in an attempt to change her life.
A 2014 British found-footage horror movie, The Mirror is a story about flatmates Jemma (Jemma Dallender), Matt (Joshua Dickinson), and Steve (Nate Fallows) as they try to win a million dollars by proving that a mirror they bought off of eBay has paranormal powers. As expected in horror movies, it goes horribly wrong.
A 1986 Hong Kong action movie that marked the directorial debut of Jet Li, Born to Defence is a film set in China following the end of WWII and the liberation of China. The movie mostly shows Jet Li’s character taking on navy sailors who are shown as villains in a boxing ring as Li’s character is an incredible athlete.
Also known as The Bodyguard from Beijing, the film is a Jet Li action movie where Li’s character is a bodyguard to watch over the girlfriend of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman.
