Hit My Subscription Renewal Date - Thoughts Part 2

Hit my subscription renewal date - Thoughts Part 2

At this point, my subscription to Netflix is functionally a subscription to Dead Boy Detectives.

That's partly because I really, really love the show -- and I do! Partly because I've been rewatching the show as much as I reasonably can in hopes of supporting the fandom as we hope to change Netflix's mind about the cancellation. And partly because -- for a lack of time, to get a point across, out of stubbornness / spite -- I haven't been watching anything else on Netflix since the cancellation.

My Basic subscription was recently dropped, and before the cancellation news, I was actually telling myself that the forced move to new plan would have an upside, because this show is one of the very few things that have made me wish I had that higher resolution subscription.

I want to see all the details, and it feels rewarding to notice little things in the show, like the plaque on the moose bobblehead in Episode 2, or the wording on the label on the black salt, or the different ways that Esther accessorizes with the evil eye necklace that she wears constantly. I've paused the show so many times to get a better look at things, and it's almost always been rewarded.

And also, before the cancellation news, I thought that I would give "with Ads" a try for at least a couple of weeks, to see if I could live with it, since I couldn't keep my Basic plan.

But I can't imagine, now that rewatching the show is part of my routine, having ads pop on in between scenes. (It would very much be a "flames on the sides of my face" situation if they messed with the timing and transitions of the show at this point. I don't feel like this is a show that is written to have ad breaks.)

And that's not even counting the whole targeted ad situation I talked about in my previous post.

Because of this show and this fandom, I'm watching more Netflix right now than ever. (I'd previously have bursts of watching, at most, a few 22-minute episodes a day while I cooked, followed by weeks of nothing as I watched shows on another service. Now I'm averaging at least 14 hours a week, while I do other things.)

Now, I'm renewing so I can keep up the rewatches (round 12 right now!), and in hopes that Netflix, too, might choose to renew (hint, hint).

But frankly, I'm considering my options, in the event that they don't.

If there's ever an official DVD/BluRay release, I'm going for it. (Very much hoping that Warner Brothers will put one out; what can I say, we're a passionate fanbase, and at the very least I hope they'd see that it would be worth it for them to do so.)

And if there's no hope of further seasons, I can't see myself keeping up a subscription full time. I'm sure I'd want to come back and visit the shows that I already like that have ended, but I don't think I'd have any motivation to try to keep up with anything new that's exclusive to Netflix as it comes out. What would be the point?

(Since the cancellation, I've learned about multiple Netflix shows I've never heard of before that sound interesting to me. I've heard about them specifically because they have also been cancelled -- and because Netflix's recommender thinks I'd be interested in them since I like Dead Boy Detectives. The fact that they have multiple recently cancelled but well-received shows in that segment seems somewhat damning.)

If I do drop back to part-time, I don't think I'd be coming back for enough time to make up the revenue they'd lose compared to the last price point, so that, too, seems like a loss for Netflix. (For the cost of a year's subscription at the last price point for Basic, I can manage almost 8 months of Standard. But I'm not sure I'd be coming back for 8 months at a time, if I knew I wasn't planning to stick around.)

Maybe I'm not the customer that Netflix is thinking of. Maybe I'm not the demographic that they want, or I'm not motivated by the same things that they think I should be.

But for a service that wants steady revenue and is concerned about cancellation/subscription churn, Netflix has been making some odd choices lately, as far as I'm concerned.

Honestly, I wonder if this is all on purpose. Just a marketing scheme Netflix is trying out.

Step 1: Get Variety to announce that you're canceling a show without officially saying it yourself.

Step 2: Fans of the show spam the internet with hashtags and petitions while streaming the show constantly. Hundreds of articles are written about how stupid you are and how outraged and dedicated the fans are.

Step 3: Announce that you've changed your mind or that the article was "misinformation" - either way the show gets renewed.

Step 4: Hundreds more articles are written about this "crazy" moment.

Basically: a massive amount of free promotion. Truthfully, can we really put it pass them?

To be honest, I wouldn't even be mad if gets the show renewed.

Here's hoping that it's true and we're just in Step 2 of the scheme.

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES LETTER PROJECT

Starting this Thursday we will be sending letters to Netflix! Please prepare letters with all of your love for the show to convince Netflix to reverse their decision! 💜

Please use the following address: 5808 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 US

Every other week will be a letter mailing week so everyone has time to prepare their letters to send them on the selected Thursday's! You can send as many as you want to Netflix HQ and show them just how much you love Dead Boy Detectives!

*wakes in the middle of the night in a cold sweat* but crows give gifts! Shiny things and pebbles and whatnot, what if Monty had brought little tiny trinkets to Edwin, what if it confused the hell out of Edwin but he kept them anyway, what if Monty kept trying to court him with this method until edwins desk was full of keys and coins and rocks and tin foil and wires, what if it was spring cleaning and Crystal dumped the desk drawer into the trash and Monty had to start all over, what if I actually get some sleep at some point, goddammit this show