lg: What's up everybody? Welcome back to Punch Trunk Nerd the podcast. We're three friends, three amigos, three bambinos. come together to talk about nerd shit. my name is Luis Gonzalez and with me is Miggy: Miguel Sanchez. ED: And that bull. lg: And this week we got just a lot to talk about. You know, it's been a minute, and we're gonna talk about a lot of shit. We're gonna talk a lot of trailers, we're gonna talk about a lot of things that we've been into. but first, guys, have you heard about this? The Netflix, what's going on with Netflix? People are dropping off after season one. And I saw it as a news article and I said, I wanna hear what the boys have to think. So boys, why do you think people are not watching season two, season three, season four, season five of a Netflix ass show? yes, Ed, go. Miggy: Ed Ball. ED: I believe Netflix has cultivated this attitude of you know not not counting on a show that they enjoy to last very long. how many very popular shows on Netflix in particular have been cancelled after the second or third season? There there hasn't been a whole lot of longevity to some of the more popular seasons for one reason or another, but Netflix has usually used the excuse of well the audience or the viewership doesn't match the you know the cost of the show. The the big show I'm thinking of is Mindhunters for one. and you know when you s when that's starts when that has happened so many times I I'm I'm falling short on Miggy: Yeah. ED: Further examples, but I I feel like Stranger Things, for example, is like one of the few shows that they've committed to beyond two seasons. a lot of other shows have just kind of like one two seasons gone. despite critical acclaim, despite fan bases, they they just like, nah, we're not gonna make any more of those. So I feel like there is perhaps something to be said about an attitude going into a show thinking that maybe il it is a singular narrative that's gonna be in just one season. Whereas, you know, w whilst that isn't the case for every show, it also reflects on just the the nature of streaming anything these days is where there is so much content to keep up with, unless you're just like I don't know, really making waves, you're really not going beyond that first or second season. I think House of the Dragon, for example, is only successful because of that brand of Game of Thrones, which established itself well before the streaming factor came into it. but as far but because of the kind of roller coaster of quality that Netflix puts out. as far as shows and movies and everything. It's just like they've they've given off the impression but they don't give a shit. It's just viewership, right? At the end of the day. And if they can give a first season that just like blows up and becomes a part of the conversation, great. But they don't need to commit to a a second season, a third season. And by that point people are just already moving on to the next. the Stranger Things I mentioned Miggy: Exactly. Exactly. Mm. ED: And I'm sorry I'm rambling here. but Stranger Things, there was like a huge gap between the last season and the season preceding it. at that point, you know, only hardcore fans are really clinging on to that and following up with it. So it's consistency, it's just you know, commitment and I don't know. It I I think there's like Miggy: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. ED: I again that just like the atmosphere that they've created through their streaming and that they just don't care whether people commit or not because they're not committing either. that that's my Miggy: I think that's yeah, I think that really boils lg: Yeah, totally. Miggy: down to what it is, is like it's just it is man, you you really put a button on it right there at the end. I mean, it's it's almost like I get that Luis wants to talk about it as the thing, but it's like that's it. You know, you just you said it, you know, like they they really do just like it's like a dog with like a treat, you know, attached to a stick right in front of it. And Netflix is only chasing viewership and whatever gets views ED: Damn, how did I pull that all together out of my lg: That was incredible. That was really good. That's it. ED: Yeah. Miggy: in at any given moment, that's the thing. And then but what's crazy is just like Netflix commits so many millions of dollars to productions and then they go, it was just not sustainable. And it was like, But you, you did that, you know? Like we it like I e every like ED: Yeah. You you built that hype, you built that marketplace, lg: Yeah, yeah, yeah. ED: you bought you brought in the interest, but then you took it away from the audience. Miggy: Yeah. Yeah, that Ed mentioned Mindhunter and that for me, which was a good number of years ago now, but like for me, that was when I started being like, I I'm gonna pull back from Netflix because like clearly the show that is and that was not just us too. People were like and people still to this day talk about Mindhunter. No, no. ED: But and that wasn't the only show either. It was I again, I'm like I I'm failing to think of some other shows, but they I I they have for sure started up new series like that were aga I mean, like for Mindhunter it was like the whole David Fincher element to it, you know, and stuff like that. They be they bring people in, these selling points, and then they cut it. Sure. Miggy: But I think what that is said. I think I think like Netflix started so strong. Think about those very early streaming shows. When Netflix was like new, like Netflix was the game for a while, you know? Like the reason why we have streaming services now is really because those early episodes of like House of Cards, Orange is the new black, you know? Like those those early days of Netflix that then also other companies were like, fuck, we need to get. lg: Mm-hmm. ED: Ha thank you. Yes. Those were the shows. Miggy: Some show on streaming and people were like, I don't even know if this is gonna work. It just happens to work for Netflix. And then you cut to like almost 15 years later. Like here we are now, and the name of the game is just like content, content, content, content. They're green lighting more things and then they're just cutting them all, before you can even really I mean, they're basically like pushing out the season and going, They're done, you know? ED: Let it sink in. Yeah. Yeah. It it like you say, it's content more than anything. And I mean, yeah, sure, at the beginning there it really I mean, you gave those great examples, Orange is the New Black and the House of Cards and Mind Hunter was amongst them where they were they were trying to compete with like HBO prestige drama, you know. Miggy: Right. HBO. Yes. Yep. ED: but again it was just like the lack of commitment and I mean they they saw out those shows but I think there they also took advantage of the again, it was the content element where I mean, because you look at so much of like the Netflix quote unquote produced content that they have, and I mean it's a huge fluctuation of quality. Miggy: Well ED: you know, j but they're but they're and that that's really just to find they're they're meeting every kind of audience that they can. But it's outreach. They're trying to it's the the the people staying at home every day watching bullshit like you know trash tele trash television, you know, fucking reality TV or soap operas and stuff like that. They they have their Miggy: And it Well w the Go on, Ed. Yeah. ED: equivalent to Hallmark movies come Christmas time, you know. It it they they they've hit every possible fucking genre, but it's so noncommittal. It's it it literally is just that element of we're trying to fill the slots, like trying to give people something to watch or something to catch their eye. Miggy: Have you it's the algorithm also, because and that's just really how the internet is run these days, is like what's the algorithm doing and all these different streaming services have their own. But it's interesting, like if you go, if you sign into your Netflix profile, right? And we're all we're all straight millennial men, right? Every like movie, the thumbnail of every movie you see will feature some either millennial man or like some star that we associate with, you know? But ED: Mm. Yeah. Miggy: That same movie, like legally legally blonde, will come across my thing and they'll be like, here's Luke Wilson, you know? But it's like, who's the star of that movie? It's fucking Reese Witherspoon. If I go to my wife's Netflix, Reese Witherspoon will be the main picture. You know what I mean? And so it's just like, it's just like the algorithm knows this is who's watching, it pushes what it pushes. And then I think that's why we can't com because okay. ED: Nikki. Miggy: It's like a water cooler situation. And this is really what streaming has done for TV in general. And like Game of Thrones was one of those big ones. Breaking Bad was one of those big ones where the the episode would drop and the next day we would all be talking about it, you know? But Netflix just like it won't it the moment it finds that show, it goes, anyway, we're done. And so it just doesn't like build that following. ED: A hundred percent. Yeah. And furthermore, they they also push and like one of the things that they're proud to compete with is that they drop all of the episodes to a season as opposed to doing a weekly episode drop. And whether, you know I I think for some shows that works definitely, but for some other shows it's just like people Miggy: Yeah. Yeah. ED: go through that show in a week and then they're done and moving on to the next thing. There's no again, there's no build-up, there's no longevity. Right. People aren't talking about that same show for weeks on end, like House of the Dragon or whatever. And I I I'm using House of a Dragon as a example because it's going on right now. But that that is a constant talking point because week by week we're getting something new and something to add to that conversation. Miggy: Yeah. They move on. It's a it's a stream of consciousness. Well Whereas ED: Whereas with Netflix that can be swept up in a week. It's just like, yeah, I binge watched that show in a couple of days. We'll talk about it this week. On the next week we're already moving on. Miggy: Yeah. Yeah. And then and but that week. You're gone. Exactly. And your week of streaming that is not my week of streaming that, right? Like you sat down and happened to you had the time to watch all eight episodes of that show this weekend. I'm catching up two or three weeks later because you've already like talked about it. Now I don't want to talk to you about it. And therefore I'm not interested in like keeping up with the show because who are my people? Who's my audience? Like who am I talking to about this? You might find like your crew that's like, like a book club. ED: Right. Miggy: You know, like I can't wait to the it just dropped. We're gonna watch it all all at once together. But it's like most of the time that's not happening. ED: Right. Nobody's talking about beef that Luis just pulled up right there. Season season two. Season one was such a big hit. Like that was like a quote unquote Well, yeah, exactly. It was like such a big deal at the time of release. But the second one kinda came like a fart and the wind. like a fart and the wind. Miggy: I yeah. Mm-hmm. But was it? Like a what? ED: But and it happens to so many of their movies too, which is a shame because obviously they're not like they they've been very vocal about their non theatrical release. but at the same time they rely on that to get buzz. Like otherwise again it just kinda gets swept on the r swept under the rug. Miggy: If you think about Cutting over to Hulu for a second, like The Bear is one of those shows that drops all at once. And whether you like the bear or not, there was a good two or three seasons there where every time the bear dropped, like people were like, Yes, I have to talk about the bear right now. And I think that's so rare for streaming shows that drop all at once, you know? but I saw a tweet the other day where this person was like, ED: Talking about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Miggy: I just don't understand why you wouldn't drop all your episodes all at once. And to me, that read is like a new gen audience who is like so accustomed to that. Yeah. And it's like, well, the reason why you don't do that is because of everything we're talking about. You want to talk about the show. You wanted to have longevity. Netflix used to have kind of an algorithm built in where it was like, we want to release certain episodes at certain times because it extends the subscription of our service. ED: Yeah. Unfamiliar, yeah. Miggy: If we drop it mid-month, right? And there's eight episodes that bleed into the next month, you're naturally gonna buy two months of Netflix so you can watch the whole show, you know? and it's like as they've gotten they make so much fucking money, they don't even care anymore. It's like, yeah, we don't give a shit. You know, whether you cancel or not, we're still gonna I mean, how many times has Netflix? I don't even know why Luis put this on here because now you're rolling me up. But it's like Netflix, like. ED: Yeah. Of course not. Yeah, of course not. that's exactly why Luis put it on. Miggy: It's like it's lg: That's exactly why I did it. See, this is working out perfectly. I'm producing this magically. Look at this. Miggy: it's like I mean, like at least like three times a year, they're like, anyway, we need to talk to you about your subscription increase, you know? And you're like, great. I love that. I love paying like I mean, pull up your Net Pull up your Netflix bill right now and let's see how much everyone's paying for Netflix. You know what I mean? I don't even understand the tier system because I just have Netflix. ED: Yeah. yeah. I'll pay extra if you bring back mine hunters, you fucks. Miggy: But then they're like, well, if you want to pay a little less, you can get ads. And I'm like, I'm not doing it. All right. Get over yourself. Okay. But now, and don't get me started on, you know, I see Luis like pulling up the screen here, but like, how many times do you want to fucking just watch a movie? And they'll let you search the in like you'd go into the search tab and they'd let you type in the entire title before they're like, we don't have that. And you're like, why? ED: Netflix ads, kill yourself. It's like I feel yeah. lg: Ha ha ED: Ha ha ha. Miggy: Why did you even let me get this far, dude? You knew what I was asking for. You know, there's only so many letters in Batman begins or whatever. It's like I didn't I didn't need to get all the way to the S for you to be like, Would you like to watch a documentary on bats? You're like, No, that's not what I'm here for. ED: He's typing it up, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Or like if it's a sp specific director, it's always that one movie that they don't have, but it's every other one. Yeah. co produced or something like that. Yeah. Miggy: They don't have yes. Bro. I yeah. I've said this so many goddamn times on this podcast and in person with us, but it's just like Netflix of all the services, and maybe now that like we have Peacock and Paramount, I can get rid of those two. But like Netflix was the big one that I was just like ready to cut the cord or whatever for Netflix because it's like I you just so often are letting me down. Every now and then there's a show that catches my eye. and maybe ED: Right. Miggy: a movie that I've been looking for and you happen to have it, thank God now I can watch it, you know? But I just like I am never clamoring to like open my Netflix app every time I turn on the TV. So big mistake. ED: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well they've become so and I mean, as far as like movies go, there was like a period where I was just like chasing I was chasing movies basically. trying to make everything available to me at all times. But because I did that, I was able to see that most movies are just going through a rotation. through every streaming site. It's just yeah. Miggy: Every service. Yeah. ED: So like when Netflix is like, this one's leaving soon, sure enough, in a couple of weeks, you're gonna see it on HBO. most recently it was the original Spider Man trilogy. They were on HBO, they were on Disney, they might still be on Disney, but now they're on Netflix, but they're leaving Netflix. Miggy: Can I tell you, I love of all the streaming services, I love when they give you some sort of heads up. I at least like to know, hey, this is your last chance to see this thing. Those things work for me. Yeah. You know, a few a few years ago. I I want to bring that up. Okay. I was about to say this Ed. A few years ago, Prime was this like golden search bar. ED: right. And I feel like most of them are doing that now. Now. It wasn't always the case. Prime Prime video is the worst at that. Miggy: Where you could first find the movie and it would tell you, yes, we have it, or no, we don't. And then we and then we click on it. I love Louise, dude. And then you would click on the movie. This was it years ago now. You would click on the movie and it would go, hey babe, you want to watch this movie? It's over on Netflix. Or it's over on HBO. Amazon for a while did that. And now no streaming service does that. And the very worst thing you could do is Google. ED: Ha ha ha ha. Miggy: Ed, pick a movie. Ed, tell me a movie just off the top of your head. Go. ED: Batman Forever. Batman Forever. Miggy: Any movie. It it old or new. Batman Forever. Okay. I could Google Batman Forever streaming where? And it'll give me a list of all the places it's streaming, which is apparently everywhere. And then you open any one of those apps and they go, You fuck. We don't have that fucking movie here. And you're like, what was the point? You know? What was the point of even telling me you had that movie? Yeah. No, it's it's all like let me fluff your balls real quick. ED: Yeah. but let me pull it let me pull it up for you. yeah. Well what I've experienced with Prime Video, I know we're we're going down a rabbit hole now, but why I was watching I I have watched there have been multiple occasions where I've started a movie on Prime Video. and it's been on my list for a while or whatever, and without indic like I'll start a movie, maybe get halfway through it or something. Miggy: Why'd you do this, Louise? lg: Yeah. ED: And then the ve the very next day it's unavailable to me. And you have to subscribe to something. because Miggy: Yeah. Yeah. Hang on, what's funny about that Louise? God damn, what he's he's being real. He's lg: I know. Miggy: telling you the pain that he feels, and you were like, ha ha, you stupid bitch. No, that does suck. ED: Yeah, a ver like liter and I lg: I could really feel it though when he said it though. He really really felt it. ED: it was there was one where yeah, one time it was The Godfather part two and I was watching it and I got halfway through it and more recently it was The Great Escape and I got halfway through it and it's a movie I've seen a million times, but I went I wanted to go back I wanted to go back and finish it and it was like what d didn't you know you had to get a subscription for something else? We don't have it. Miggy: What was it? What was it? Ugh. But the momentum is gone. Yeah. We No, I hate it w when they they go, We don't have that movie. You just had that movie, okay? ED: Yeah. Yesterday. And you didn't give me a warning. If there was no countdown saying that you were getting rid of it tomorrow. Tomorrow just like I'm sorry. I I I'm sorry I didn't finish the three and a half hour movie right then and there. Miggy: No. No. I'm trying to remember Because we're talking about these kind of eras of streaming where it was like the beginning and then where we are now. There was like a middle era where there was definitely like mid movie, like Hulu or something was like, Oops, we're done showing you this movie. And you're like, wait, I was in the middle of watching that. They were like, It's on something else now, bitch. And you're like, Okay. And that's and that's really the the core. No, no. It's like, I'm give me a little bit of grace period here, okay? ED: The the rights cannot be that contentious, you know. Right. and that's the thing is like it's all these studios who are just like, ow, you got it for this long. past this point. Miggy: Well, it now now now I'm spiraling down this like rabbit hole. Two things. Now we're in this like mode of life where like things like Amazon will decide if you bought this movie digitally, you don't own it anymore. We just had the you we were licensing it to you and we don't have the license to that anymore. So now you don't. But then things like Drive, do you guys remember a few years ago when Drive was like all of a sudden all the music in that movie, they didn't have the quote unquote license for it anymore. So Amazon had to like throw in a whole new soundtrack for people who were watching that movie. Yeah, no, there's like a there's like two different versions of that movie now. And I hate that because it's like that's not what that production intended, you know? It's like you this this was the movie, and now you've completely changed it. Kristen put on a show. Ed, that's the fucking crux of it all. Is like, thank God for physical media. Okay. And the same with like PlayStation recently. lg: yeah. ED: Like, thank God I have it on D V D right here, you know? Yeah. I they're just pushing us back to it. Miggy: That is literally what's happening. And then what you're gonna start seeing is they're gonna start pulling these discs because they want you to be like, I guess this is the only fucking way. Luis, the way you fucking laugh every time I say something or Ed says something, okay, you got me riled up and now you're laughing. Your screen. We talked so much, Luis. lg: Ha ha ha. ED: Don't don't hide behind your little streaming menu there. Luis, what do you have to say about all of this? lg: no, you gu you guys nailed it. No. ED: For twenty minutes. Twenty minutes we've been talking. lg: I knew when I brought it up, I was like, I'm gonna let these boys fly. You know, and you guys did. You guys really, really did. What else can I say? I mean you guys nailed it. You know? I got nothing else. They trained the audience to act this way, you know, so there you go. Miggy: Do guys do you guys remember that show from the like early 2000s? It was Amanda Bynes, What I Like About You. Do you even remember? It was on like WB or CW or something. Does that sound familiar? The the the opening theme of that TV show was What I Like About You, You Really Know Had A. Or whatever. Kristen recently, I don't think she had ever seen the show, or maybe she just had forgotten about it. ED: Vaguely, yeah. lg: yeah. ED: Yeah. Miggy: She found it on like Prime or whatever and was started watching it. And one night I sat in bed with her while the the next episode played and it was a completely different opening theme. And I Googled it and it was simply that thing I was saying earlier. They just ran out of the license for that song. So they picked a whole different song where the song didn't fit at all, except for one of the actors in the opening credit like points to the camera and says, You like what I like about you and he points to the camera and they picked a song. lg: Wait, really? Miggy: Thank you, Elise. They picked a song where they happened to say the word you, like right there. Otherwise the song didn't match at all. And I was just like, and that really bothered me. And Kristen was like, I don't know. This it sounds right to me. And I was like, No. Okay. I remember, I remember exactly where I was when this show came out. This is not it. All right. lg: Ha ha. These are completely valid points. Miggy: Guys, thank you for coming to the podcast. I s I just I I've been saying this recently. I just like I feel like a boomer. Like I feel like I've gotten so old because like the things I complain about, like don't ED: It mostly comes down to technology. You're just like it's fucking technology trying to make my life easier. No, it's making my life harder, more complicated. Yeah. Wait. Exactly. They're they've they've preconditioned my mind to not worry about a second season of a show. Like what? Miggy: Yeah, no, I know, right? But it's not though, okay? They want to control you, Ed. And here we are. No, I'm about to go like raid all of the thrift stores. Like I went to the library last week and I rented a couple of DVDs and Blu rays just because it's like I just wanna watch these things. ED: Yeah. for what a whoever wants to know, I mean, the Criterion Collection is having its fifty percent off sale right now up up until the seventeenth. So hop hop in on that. lg: Yeah. Miggy: Damn, don't even don't don't get me started, but have you guys like been in a Barnes and Noble recently? The bookstore? You you walk into that bookstore now and it's like 75% toys for kids. Like straight up toys. It's the toy aisle on Max. Think about Toys R Us. Barnes Noble is like Barnes R Us. And then they've got books, but all the books are like, hey, you know Jill Biden? ED: Bet you know I have not. lg: Yeah. Miggy: Here's 40 of her books. And you're like, cool. Okay. I'm looking for a specific book. They're like, we got it in a really super collector's edition. And you're like, okay, look at it. Look at it. It's toys. I go into Barnes and Noble. I Ed, I told you for I think it was the boy's birthday earlier this year or Christmas. And you were like, what can we get the boy? And I said, Well, he's reading a lot. You know, get him, let's get him a gift card to Barnes and Noble. And you guys. ED: Right. Barnes and Noble gift card. Miggy: You guys were so kind to give him like, I think it was like $30 or something like that, which for a child is a million dollars. Okay. And we went to Barnes and Noble. I that's what I thought. We went to Barnes and Noble. He picked out a whole fucking Lego thing. We had to find like a Lego book that had a bunch of Legos in it. And it was like, can we just at least make it some reading, you know? ED: I mean good for a couple of books, you know. Does it have words on it? The instructions don't count. The instructions don't count. Miggy: It was yeah, it was it was it was like a Lego it was like like a tin tin item Lego thing where it's like the book was like, here's how you build Legos and it gave you the Legos to build those things. Yeah, let's see how you fucking let's see you do that. so go to youtube dot com slash at punch runk nerd. ED: Yeah. Yeah, Google that, Louise. lg: Ha ha ha! ED: But no, you're right. I mean I it but I mean that's just the nature of the world right now. It's very niche things like you see I mean Barnes and Noble has that Criterion corner, but also it also has the A twenty four corner now. vinyls vinyls are coming back. so vinyls are a big deal there. you have the anime, the you know, the the Lego like Miguel was saying, there's like a Harry Potter corner. Like it it i it's it's all the Miggy: It's all IPs, right? What sells? ED: Exactly. I Ps. Yeah. Exactly. A hundred percent. And Miggy: That and that's the capitalistic hellscape we live in. what an episode. We love this. We love doing this. I'm so tired. this has been Punch Rock Nerd with Luis Gonzalez, me, Miguel Sanchez, and our big boy Ed Ball. and until next time, next time, later Gators. Do we still say that? Later Gators. ED: Ed Bull.