Can you believe that “they” are still keeping these masterpieces from us. Why, Big Media Moguls? Why?!
by David Griner, Sam Thielman
lix struck a streaming coup last month when it added every episode of Friends, then scored another win this month by adding the first five seasons of M*A*S*H. So what’s left?
A surprising number of modern classics are still padlocked under pay-per-episode arrangements, meaning they could (and likely will) come to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or Crackle.
Some of the most highly demanded shows still airing—The Simpsons and Game of Thrones, say—are already available on streaming for those with cable subscriptions. But that still leaves many programs up for negotiation.
Such discussions are, of course, usually kept secret, so we (Adweek digital managing editor David Griner and TV writer Sam Thielman) decided to create out own wish list. Check it out below and let us know which shows you’d most want added.
[UPDATE: We initially had Saved by the Bell on here, but apparently we had just missed the fact it is indeed on Netflix.]
12. Golden Girls
Although available on Netflix in a few countries such as Canada, Fresh Prince hasn’t made it to U.S. streaming yet.
Netflix struck a streaming coup last month when it added every episode of Friends, then scored another win this month by adding the first five seasons of M*A*S*H. So what’s left?
A surprising number of modern classics are still padlocked under pay-per-episode arrangements, meaning they could (and likely will) come to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu or Crackle.
Some of the most highly demanded shows still airing—The Simpsons and Game of Thrones, say—are already available on streaming for those with cable subscriptions. But that still leaves many programs up for negotiation.
Such discussions are, of course, usually kept secret, so we (Adweek digital managing editor David Griner and TV writer Sam Thielman) decided to create out own wish list. Check it out below and let us know which shows you’d most want added.
[UPDATE: We initially had Saved by the Bell on here, but apparently we had just missed the fact it is indeed on Netflix.]
12. Golden Girls
Sam: I cannot believe The Golden Girls is not on streaming. This has blown my mind. I mean is this a protracted bidding war? Is that what’s going on? Betty White is this generation’s Ghandi. There’s a forgodsakes petition about it.
David: I only recently learned what an impressively diverse fan base this show has. I actually enjoyed it as a teen, which is saying something, so I guess it makes sense.
Sam: I feel like there’s a real danger here that kids will grow up without thinking regularly about elder sex. Do you want to live in that world? I don’t.
David: I love seeing it pop up in memes. Almost 30 years later, and Sophia’s still getting zingers on Blanche, that ol’ floozy. I really do think this show would be a hit on streaming. It’s comfort food, but it’s earnestly good, too.
11. The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.
David: Help me out here, Sam. I have almost no memory of this one.
Sam: This is the greatest show in the history of mankind, obviously.
David: Let’s unpack that, please.
Sam: It’s a steampunk Western starring Bruce Campbell, written by the writing team (including Carlton Cuse!) that descended like Prometheus to give the world Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Literally everything good about mankind comes from this show. But we didn’t deserve it, and so it got canceled after a single season. Think of it as Back to the Future III: The Series.
David: Ah yes, something we’ve all been clamoring for.
Sam: Then we’re agreed!
David: And still better than Wild Wild West, I’d wager.
Sam: Scoliosis is better than Wild Wild West.
10. Homicide: Life on the Street
Sam: This is a capital-G Great TV series. In a lot of ways it pioneered the contemporary gritty crime drama model, although its successors, like its creators’ The Wire and FX’s The Shield, get more of the credit. One of the best things about this series is that the writers know whereof they speak—David Simon was a crime reporter at the Baltimore Sun, and Ed Burns was a cop. This isn’t Dick Wolf we’re talking about here.
David: I was so used to Law & Order the first time I jumped into an episode of Homicide. I was like, “Wait, I need to know the characters in this one?”
Sam: Exactly!
David: It’s perfect for streaming. I wanted to watch them in a row on my own pace. It’s so funny to me that Detective Munch is the lingering legacy of that show.
Sam: Channel-surfing and seeing Richard Belzer at various ages and levels of surliness is one of life’s great pleasures.
David: He was doing it before Boyhood made it cool.
