Netflix is often regarded as one of the most popular streaming services. According to Product Habits, viewership increased by 283 percent in only four years. Recently, though, Netflix has removed many popular TV shows including “Friends,” “New Girl,” “American Horror Story,” and “Bill Nye: Science Guy.” These recent losses have led to viewership dropping according to BGR.

Netflix has been facing controversy because of the popular TV shows that have been taken out. Some speculate that this may be because Netflix wants the majority of their viewers to be watching Netflix originals, such as “Stranger Things.” Yet, it has had the opposite effect. Many people have now left Netflix and gone to streaming services such as Hulu. Backlinko states that Hulu viewership has seen a 9 percent increase. Though there may not be a direct correlation between a decrease for Netflix and an increase for Hulu, it can be assumed that those who are canceling their Netflix memberships are getting Hulu memberships because of the popularity of the service.

 This is not the only issue that Netflix has been dealing with. In 2021, the TV show “Ginny and Georgia” was released. It was about a mother, Georgia, and her rebellious daughter, Ginny, as a way of mocking Taylor Swift about how many men she has dated throughout her career. Viewers were angry about the supposed slut shaming, but Netflix did nothing to counter it even after Swift expressed her own discontent about the issue.

It is obvious that with the recent controversies, Netflix has earned an angry viewer base. Netflix has yet to make a statement about this. Yet, as they continue to take off popular shows and movies and add originals that enrage rather than entertain, viewership drops. With the realization that many of the shows that people originally went to Netflix for are gone, it is no surprise that subscribers have fled and the service has hit hard times.