I’ve been a Netflix customer since the early 2000s, and have often been impressed with the service’s ability to recommend films and TV shows I’ve never heard of but perfectly fit my taste. It introduced me to Nightcrawler, a twisted thriller, and to Event Horizon, a delightful mashup of horror and sci-fi.
Sadly, today’s Netflix has a different set of priorities. I was looking for something to watch the other day, and the first thing it showed me was True Memoirs of an International Assassin, a Netflix original starring Kevin James. This wasn’t just a shoddy suggestion, a film that didn’t quite match my taste. This was the kind of movie I loathe, an over-the-top action comedy from a former sitcom star.
More promotional than personal
The movie got an animated preview and took up most of the screen. Below that was a row of large rectangular boxes, each featuring another Netflix original. It was clear that this stuff wasn’t personalized either. I’ve already seen every episode of Stranger Things and House of Cards, so why is Netflix recommending them to me?
The next row down was “trending now.” It included titles like Gilmore Girls and Friends, shows I hated when they were on television. Below the trending selection was a row of movies that had been “recently added.” I was now four sections deep into the Netflix menu and not a single suggestion felt really personalized to me. It was about marketing Netflix’s original content, or showing me stuff that happened to be popular and new.