Netflix May Be Positioning Itself To Dominate The World Of Teen Dramas

If there’s one thing every semi in-touch person knows about today’s teens it’s that they love Netflix, and it looks like Netflix wants to keep that relationship going. With the recent premieres of shows like Everything Sucks! and The End of the F***ing World, it seems as if Netflix is angling to dominate another entertainment subgenre — the world of teenage entertainment. And so far, it’s move that’s paying off.

It’s next to impossible to know the behind-the-scenes goals of the ever-secretive Netflix, but there are few known facts that point to Netflix angling itself to be the next major player in original Gen Z-focused entertainment. Back in 2016, Ted Sarandos announced that the company’s goal was to make 50 percent of its library original content, and that’s a goal the company has stuck to. There’s now typically a new major Netflix original series or film released at least once a week, sometimes, as was the case in Altered Carbon and The Cloverfield Paradox‘s cases, to these titles detriment. Also, Netflix has a history of targeting niche entertainment subgenres and investing heavily in them to the point of completely dominating the landscape.

The most notable example of this occurred in the world of independent film. As The Ringer’s Sean Fennessey wrote in his piece about Netflix and Amazon’s takeover of the world of indie films, “Independent cinema is moving out of the art house and into every house.” Netflix’s aggressive pursuit of new and interesting projects from both emerging and established filmmakers on the festival circuits has given some independent movies more exposure than they may have ever achieved. However, Netflix’s fixed rates, little control for filmmakers over distribution, and mystery around viewership numbers has put some filmmakers in a difficult spot. Likewise, Netflix’s genre-based interest has also worked to disrupt the world of anime. At the end of 2017, Sarandos revealed that Netflix had about 30 different anime series in various states of production. Not only that, but the amount of money Netflix has paid for certain anime series has started to change Japan’s anime industry, in some cases giving the power back to these historically overworked and under-compensated studios. Long story short, Netflix has a history of taking over beloved genres and changing them, for better or for worse.

Photo: Netflix

The streaming service seems poised to be making at least similar moves when it comes to the world of teen-based entertainment. By my count, Netflix has released eight original titles that either star teenagers, are set in high school, or are clearly targeted toward a younger audience. The first Netflix original to fall into this category was Degrassi: The Next Class, which was later followed by Chasing Cameron and Haters Back Off, two shows from YouTube stars. However, the most impactful title to come from from Netflix’s investment into teen-focused programming was undoubtedly 13 Reasons Why. The drama dominated pop culture conversations, stood for a period of time as the most tweeted about show of the year, and, according to outside data, may be one of the most-watched Netflix originals of all time. The series was a huge hit for the service. There are others as well — the autism spectrum dramedy Atypical, the anti-anorexia To the Bone, the darkly beautiful The End of the F***ing World, and most recently Everything Sucks!, a comedy that’s been compared favorably to Freaks and Geeks. That’s not including the upcoming On My Block. Netflix has invested a lot in titles for younger audiences without drawing too much attention to it.

Some of those investments seem to be successful. As mentioned before, 13 Reasons Why was one of the most discussed shows of 2017, which meant that for a time in 2017 Netflix was discussed more consistently. Atypical and To the Bone likewise inspired several impassioned thinkpieces, and The End of the F***ing World earned a high Rotten Tomatoes score. By and large, Netflix’s investment in shows and movies for younger audiences seems to be paying off, and that’s not even including the streaming service’s broader originals. Though Stranger Things is delightful for all ages, at its core it’s a coming-of-age drama about kids. Netflix’s Marvel franchises are distinctly more adult than the average superhero show, but it’s difficult not to see them in some way as a competitor to the CW’s beloved Arrowverse. Even shows like Fuller House and A Series of Unfortunate Events speak to a level of nostalgia that seems to be more targeted to Generation Z than millennials or Gen X-ers. And then there’s the CW deal.

Ever since 2016, all new seasons of CW shows have been made available on Netflix eight days after the premiere of their season finales. Historically, no brand better understands how to make a great teen comedy or drama than the CW. They did it before with One Tree Hill and 7th Heaven, and they’re doing it now with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Riverdale. On the other side of this coin, as the CW’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Digital Programs Rick Haskins told Decider, the CW’s audience is one that prefers streaming to traditional television. As a subscriber that’s a huge deal, but it’s also a smart one that connects an established audience with a product they love as well as a move that has established Netflix as a place to go for great teen entertainment.

Scott Patrick Green/Netflix

It seems as if it’s a relationship that’s already starting to pay off. According to a survey released by Google last year, Gen Z named Netflix as the second coolest brand, right below YouTube but above Google and Xbox. Also, as popular as streaming already is, it only gets more popular the younger the viewer is. According to a poll from Pew Research Center, 61 percent of millennials said they watch television through streaming. It feels unlikely that Gen Z will change the course of television and jump back to appointment viewing, which means the biggest streaming service around is in a really great position. It has an audience that thinks highly of them, already has brand loyalty, and that has a lifetime of consuming media ahead of them.

It’s unlikely that Netflix will fully dominate the world of teen entertainment, especially anytime soon. On the television front, the CW is still king, and it would a mistake to overlook the impact of social media. Popular YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch accounts don’t have the same production values or organizational structure as traditional television, but every minute an audience spends on these platforms is a minute they’re not spending on another form of entertainment, like TV. However, it would be a mistake to count Netflix out in the race for younger eyes. It’s unclear how this new focus will affect Netflix, streaming, or TV as a whole, but one thing is clear. Gen Z has already started to change the TV game.