Netflix subscribers who enjoy rewatching the classics as much as trending originals, may have noticed some all-time great British TV shows are about to disappear.
A broad swathe of Brit telly classics have either left the streaming service this month, or are about to in the next few weeks. You may have spotted the ‘last day to watch’ label next to some archive shows, but the number of them is quite significant.
The likes of Extras, Fawlty Towers, The Office, Spaced, Absolutely Fabulous and The Vicar of Dibley have all reached the end of their run on Netflix UK in the last week.
On July 14, the beloved David Jason and Nicolas Lyndhurst comedy Only Fools and Horses, and my personal favourite comedy of all time Bottom depart too. The news doesn’t get any better on July 15 when I’m Alan Partridge and Top Gear goes too.
July 31 is the last day you’ll be able to watch Channel 4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner before it too is removed from the Netflix library.
There’s no news on why these shows will no longer be available, but it’s likely they’ve reached the end of the agreed upon licensing deals. It’s not clear whether these shows will now revert back to home platforms like the BBC iPlayer and All4.
It’s also possible these shows will now end up on the Britbox streaming service, the BBC and ITV’s joint effort to rival the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus.
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The £5.99 service promises streaming of the best of British box sets, but so far the library isn’t all that impressive. You can get the likes of Doctor Foster, Love Island, Broadchurch and The Only Way Is Essex. There’s a few originals too, but nothing to write home about.
However, for UK Netflix subscribers, the service may not be such an attractive proposition moving forward, given some of their all-time favourites won’t be available on tap.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.