Why Netflix Is Failing: 3 Reasons You’re Watching ‘Baby Reindeer’ Wrong

Netflix is no longer a streaming service. It is a casino.

I’ve tracked the media landscape for a decade. I’ve watched the pivot to video, the death of cable, and the birth of the "Content War."

Netflix is winning the war but losing the soul.

They have 270 million subscribers and zero identity. They have the largest library on earth and nothing to watch.

Then Baby Reindeer happens.

It’s a global phenomenon. It’s raw. It’s uncomfortable. It’s the kind of storytelling that used to define the "Golden Age of TV."

But the audience isn't watching a show anymore. They are participating in a digital autopsy.

If you think Baby Reindeer is a win for Netflix, you’re wrong. It’s the final warning shot.

Here is why Netflix is failing—and why you’re watching their biggest hit of the year the wrong way.

The Algorithm Killed the Artist

In a traditional studio, a person with "taste" makes a bet. They see a script, they feel a spark, they take a risk.

At Netflix, the data makes the bet.

The algorithm likes "true crime." The algorithm likes "unreliable narrators." The algorithm likes "limited series" that can be finished in a single Sunday hangover.

Baby Reindeer was greenlit because it fit a profile. But the show succeeded because it broke the mold. Richard Gadd didn't write a "content piece." He wrote a scream for help.

The failure lies in how Netflix presents it.

They don't want you to feel empathy. They want you to feel "engagement."

When the algorithm sees you pausing a scene to look at a background detail, it doesn't think, "This viewer is moved." It thinks, "This viewer is hooked."

Netflix has trained us to treat art like a puzzle to be solved. We aren't viewers. We are forensic investigators.

If you are watching Baby Reindeer to find "clues" instead of feeling the weight of the trauma, the algorithm has already rewired your brain.

You Are Treating Trauma Like Trivia

The internet didn’t watch Baby Reindeer. The internet hunted it.

Within 48 hours of the release, "The Real Martha" was found. TikTok sleuths were doxxing people. Reddit threads became digital courtrooms.

Netflix didn't stop this. They fed it.

The "Based on a True Story" tag is the ultimate engagement hack. It turns a narrative into a scavenger hunt.

I spent two days reading the discourse. 90% of it was about the identities of the real-life abusers. 10% was about the actual themes of the show: self-loathing, shame, and the cycle of abuse.

When you treat a victim’s story like a "Who-Dunn-It," you strip the art of its power. You turn a man’s life into a game of Clue.

This is the "Dahmer-ification" of Netflix.

They’ve realized that controversy is stickier than quality. They aren't selling you a story. They are selling you a reason to tweet.

If you’re more interested in the real-world LinkedIn profile of a character than the performance on screen, you’ve been tricked. You aren't watching a show. You’re participating in a marketing campaign.

The Binge Model Is a Cultural Suicide Pact

Netflix is the only platform that kills its own hits.

Think about Baby Reindeer. It’s a masterpiece. It’s dense. It’s difficult to stomach.

Netflix dropped all seven episodes at once.

By Monday, people had finished it. By Tuesday, they were asking "What’s next?"

The binge model is built for consumption, not reflection.

It treats shows like groceries. You buy them, you eat them, you throw away the packaging.

If Baby Reindeer had been released weekly, the conversation would have lasted two months. We would have sat with the discomfort. We would have discussed the nuances of Richard Gadd’s performance.

Instead, it was a 48-hour fire sale.

Netflix is failing because they have no "staying power." They create "The Current Thing" every weekend, only for it to be forgotten by the next Friday.

They are addicted to the initial spike. They don't care about the long tail.

This is why their "Originals" feel disposable. Even the great ones are treated like fast food.

You’re watching it wrong because you’re rushing to the finish line. You’re trying to avoid "spoilers" instead of absorbing the story.

When you binge a story about deep-seated trauma in five hours, you aren't experiencing the art. You’re just checking a box.

The Insight: The End of "Originality"

Here is my prediction: Netflix will stop trying to be the home of the "next big thing."

They’ve already started the pivot.

Notice what’s trending? It’s not just Baby Reindeer. It’s Suits. It’s Grey’s Anatomy. It’s old HBO shows like Sex and the City.

Netflix is becoming the world’s most expensive DVR.

They’ve realized that producing original, high-stakes art like Baby Reindeer is too unpredictable. It’s too expensive to market. It’s too hard to control.

They are moving toward "Utility Content."

Live sports. WWE. Unscripted reality shows where people date through walls.

The "Golden Age" of streaming is over. We are entering the "Inventory Age."

Netflix isn't failing because they don't have enough hits. They are failing because they’ve forgotten that hits are supposed to change the culture, not just fill a gap in the schedule.

Baby Reindeer will be remembered as the last time a piece of raw, unfiltered art managed to break through the noise of the machine.

But it won't be because Netflix supported the art. It will be because the machine found a way to monetize the controversy.

In 24 months, your Netflix homepage won't be a curated list of masterpieces. It will be a digital shopping mall.

The algorithm doesn't want you to think. It wants you to scroll.

Are you actually watching the show, or are you just waiting for the next "True Crime" hunt to begin?