TV Shows That Got Removed From Netflix

2020 was an extremely tough year all around. Being in strict quarantine, at least in the United States, for almost three months of the year, from March to almost June, left us with a lot of time and not a whole to do. Since there wasn't much we were allowed to do, many people resorted to Netflix and other streaming platforms to pass the time, streaming TV shows and movies to kill the time. 

It seemed like a streaming service war in early-May when Disney+ and Netflix were dropping a lot of new shows. With Disney+ dropping Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Netflix gaining the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. The services were going back and forth, trying to edge out any sort of lead. 

However, with the many shows that were getting released in the shadows, many shows and movies had begun getting removed throughout the entire year. Most shows were being pulled from Netflix to be placed on a streaming service that owned the show's rights. 

Many of these shows had a set removal date on Netflix, and most of them were not until the end of the year. However, when those dates came and went, Netflix had lost some fantastic TV shows that brought in a lot of viewership. One of these said shows could arguably be one of the most rewatchable TV shows on all of TV. However, that's just conjecture and not fact. 

Now here are some of the best TV shows that were pulled from Netflix:

1. The Office 

The Office was one of Netflix's biggest shows. To fans of the show, it might very well be the only show that they used Netflix for as fans of the show constantly rewatched it. Many fans were devasted and upset that Netflix was pulling their favorite Scranton Paper Company from their services.

The Office was removed from Netflix on New Year's Day 2021 to find its new home on NBC's recently created streaming service, Peacock. That said, many fans were outraged because they did not want to have to buy a subscription to another streaming service. 

The wacky crew of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company skyrocketed itself back into Netflix's top ten most-watched shows during its last month on the service in December 2020. Fans trying to cram in one last watch-through before being permanently removed. 

For fans who did not want to purchase Peacock can still find the show being shown relatively often on Comedy Central. 

2. Gossip Girl

Much like The Office, Gossip Girl was tagged with a New Year's Day removal from Netflix. The show remained a mainstay on Netflix for eight years. The CW signed the show's rights over to Netflix in October 2012. The show is based upon the novel series of the same name and aired on The CW Network from September 2007 to December 2012. 

It then made the jump to Netflix and has gained a ton of following through the streaming service. It has remained ever-present on the screens of fans over the years. However, in May 2020, HBO released their own streaming service called HBO Max and released a statement that Gossip Girl would be finding a new home there within a year of the site's release. 

Not only did HBO take back Gossip Girl, but the company has announced that a new show with the same title is in the production process. It is assumed that it takes place in the same universe as the original series, but will it hold a candle to the original's popularity? Only time will tell. 

3. Mad Men

Arguably one of the best TV shows of the early 2010s, Mad Men had won many awards during its time on air from 2007 to 2015. The show reached a deal with Netflix in April 2011 that would bring the show to the streaming service. The show had been featured on the service for nine years, making it one of the longest-running shows to be featured on Netflix. 

On June 9, the show was pulled from Netflix due to Lionsgate's, the production company that owns the show's rights, contract running out with Netflix. The show had been removed at the worst possible time, right in the middle of the mandatory quarantine. The show had a mini-revival between fans and critics alike during this time, which makes the show being pulled all the more tough to bear.

Initially having no real place to stream the show after its removal from Netflix, fans tried to find a way to have access to it. After its initial removal, the show had episodes available to purchase on Amazon Prime. However, a month later, on July 15th, AMC had made the show available for their subscription users. 

In doing that, AMC also made it available on cable television once more, five years after it had stopped airing. It also is available on-demand services as well.   

4. Cheers

One of the most beloved sitcoms of the 80s and early 90s. Cheers were removed from Netflix on July 1, towards the tail-end of the mandatory quarantine in the United States. Much like Mad Men, Cheers had been streaming on Netflix since 2011, meaning that its nine-year run had finished. 

There were two main reasons for Cheers removal from the site. The first of which was that CBS, who owns Cheers' production rights, could not reach an agreed price with Netflix after the initial license deal was up. Since no agreement could be reached, CBS pulled the show from the site. That said, the announcement of NBC's Peacock helped CBS pull the show. 

After its initial removal, the show could be found on CBS All-Access and Hulu until Peacock was released to the general public. Now that it has, the show can also be found there since it was originally played on NBC back when it was on live TV. 

5. Dexter

Dexter is the last one on the list here, and like The Office and Gossip Girl before it, the show was removed from Netflix around the New year, this time on December 30. All eight seasons of the show were removed from the service to be moved to Showtime's streaming service. Showtime initially released the show from 2006 until 2013 and owned the rights to the show while it was on Netflix.

The show had been on Netflix for several years; how many, I'm not totally sure, but it has been on the platform for a long time. 

The main reason that Showtime pulled Dexter from Netflix was not because of their own streaming service; at least that's not the main reason. This past October, Showtime released a statement stating they would be making a ten-episode limited-series on their platform. 

With that done, it would make the most sense to have the original series being a Showtime exclusive, with this limited series being released later on in 2021. 

With these big players off of Netflix's lineup card, are we bound to see the downfall of Netflix? I don't believe so because there is still so much media on the site to keep bringing in the big bucks. 

Will we see shows that are on multiple streaming services, or will it become a tug-of-war between the sites? Who knows, but enjoy your shows on Netflix while you can because they might be getting the boot to another streaming service soon.