A new Emily Blunt and Chris Evans movie reveals how Netflix has been obsessing over one topic for almost six years. It is evident that, in recent years, Netflix has adopted more of a data-driven strategy towards producing new shows and movies and renewing old ones. Owing to these recent changes in the streaming giant’s content creation methods, many acclaimed shows have surprisingly been canceled after their first seasons, while others have been renewed despite being panned by audiences and critics.
These newfound trends surrounding Netflix’s production strategies have made it evident that the streaming platform has been focusing more on some sub-genres and subject matters than others. For instance, Netflix frequently produces or licenses content based on books because of their potential to lure the existing audiences of the original books. Similarly, the new Emily Blunt and Chris Evans movie highlights how Netflix has been fixated on one topic for six years, probably because of its success in generating significant interest.
Pain Hustlers Continues Netflix’s Fixation On The Opioid Crisis
In recent years, Netflix has put out so many movies and TV shows that deal with the opioid crisis that it is hard not to believe the platform is fixated on churning out content that sheds light on the pressing societal issue. Netflix’s foray into the opioid crisis narrative theme was with 2017’s Heroin(e), a short documentary that walked viewers through the journeys of three women who battled West Virginia’s opioid epidemic. This was followed by another documentary, Recovery Boys, in 2018, which focused on four men who set out to rectify their mistakes and fix their relationships after struggling with addiction for years.
The streaming giant continued this trend by releasing another documentary, Dope, on the same subject. In its three-season runtime, Dope portrayed everything from the inner workings of the drug-selling business to the efforts of law enforcers in curbing the destruction caused by the drugs. Then, The Pharmacist came along, highlighting the journey of a mother who attempts to avenge her son’s drug-related death by facing off against powerful figures who started the opioid crisis. Once the streaming giant was done producing documentaries, it started releasing shows and movies, like Painkillers, The Fall of the House of Usher, and now the Chris Evans and Emily Blunt-starring Pain Hustlers, that deal with the same topic, cementing how Netflix is seemingly obsessed with the opioid crisis.
Hulu Already Made The Best True Story-Inspired Opioid Crisis TV Show In 2021
Unfortunately, despite Netflix’s best efforts to produce so much content on the topic, none of its shows about the opioid crisis have arguably come close to matching the harrowing drama and realism of Hulu’s Dopesick. While Netflix shows like The Fall of the House of Usher are brilliant in their own right, they combine fact with fiction, and the opioid crisis is not even central to their narratives. Hulu’s Dopesick, on the other hand, takes a sobering look at the crisis by drawing inspiration from real-world events and portraying the capitalism behind the drug industry with the utmost seriousness.
