--- title: How Netflix Is Ruining TV description: The streaming service is changing TV for the worse canonical: https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/ author: Daniel D'Addario article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-11T14:59:09.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-30T12:10:11.692Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How Netflix Is Ruining TV og:description: The streaming service is changing TV for the worse og:url: https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11fb85a86c6d0253/69889af1196cf42d1003c4fa/dan-daddario-netflix-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Dan D'addario Netflix Thumbnail og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How Netflix Is Ruining TV twitter:description: The streaming service is changing TV for the worse twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11fb85a86c6d0253/69889af1196cf42d1003c4fa/dan-daddario-netflix-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # How Netflix Is Ruining TV by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/) and [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/) Jul 11, 2016 2:59 PM UTC  by [Daniel D'Addario](https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/) and [Joyce Lee](https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/) Jul 11, 2016 2:59 PM UTC Netflix came onto the scene with its first major original programs—_House of Cards_ and _Orange is the New Black_—only three years ago, in 2013\. And yet the streaming service seems to have effectively redefined what “television” is—and not for the better. Many of Netflix’s shows are very good, and yet most, thanks to the streaming service’s apparent desire to build its library over all other goals, run too long, either extending past the natural endpoint of their story (like _House of Cards_) or dithering around with strong seasons punctuated by time-killing (like _Orange is the New Black_). Worse still, it’s impossible to discuss Netflix series without potentially spoiling your fellow viewer, given the service’s manner of dropping entire seasons at once and allowing the viewer to move through at his or her own pace. As a result, the Netflix shows that aren’t very good, like _Bloodline_ or _Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt_, get overrated because a critical consensus isn’t allowed to emerge; those that are good, like _Orange is the New Black_ season 4, see their potential impact blunted. TV is meant to spark real conversations; Netflix shows, thanks to their delivery method and their endless sprawl, spark nothing but the impulse to press “play” on the next episode. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/"},"headline":"How Netflix Is Ruining TV","datePublished":"2016-07-11T14:59:09.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:10:11.692Z","description":"The streaming service is changing TV for the worse","url":"https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/","keywords":["TV"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11fb85a86c6d0253/69889af1196cf42d1003c4fa/dan-daddario-netflix-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Joyce Lee","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joyce-lee/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt11fb85a86c6d0253/69889af1196cf42d1003c4fa/dan-daddario-netflix-thumbnail.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Dan D'addario Netflix Thumbnail","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/tv/","name":"TV"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4394775/how-netflix-is-ruining-tv/","name":"How Netflix Is Ruining TV"}}]}] ```