I Am Obsessed With Netflix Shows, but These 8 Are Seriously Overrated

It's no secret that Netflix has been leading the pack of streaming platforms producing original content around the world for years. Netflix's productions are known for being high quality and high budget, but heavily dependent on viewership.

And while I can name a dozen Netflix series that I truly love, there are some that make me question the streamer's strategy. By canceling some of its better shows, it continues to give a platform to those stories that don't really deserve it. Here are 8 Netflix original series that get way more hype than they're worth.

Orange is the New Black (2013-2019)

We all know that this show has been praised for its progressive storytelling and provocative themes, and I can respect that. More than that, I was completely obsessed with it when it first aired. In retrospect, though, it just wasn't that good.

Like a lot of shows, Orange is the New Black started out strong and grabbed viewers' attention immediately, but went off the rails pretty quickly and could only be finished out of love for the original cast. The acting was great, but the writing didn't deserve half the praise.

Emily in Paris (2020-...)

As many people on the Internet seem to agree, Emily in Paris is a fairy tale show that has nothing to do with the reality of France in general, Paris in particular, or the world of fashion. The show is often cheesy, too unrealistic to invest in, and too realistic to use as a form of escape.

There are too many good movies and TV shows about love and fashion to waste your time on Emily in Paris, so it's a real shocker to see it continue amidst all the cancellations.

Stranger Things ( 2016-...)

This may be a controversial opinion, but Netflix is putting too much effort into promoting a show it has been unable to finish for years. Stranger Things was a phenomenon when it started, and the well-deserved fame lasted for several years. However, like many other shows, the quality of the show slowly deteriorated.

Now it remains a beloved but highly criticized series that everyone looks forward to finishing. Maybe if the production didn't take so long, my opinion would be different, but at this rate, Stranger Things' time of glory is long gone.

13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

If there is a show more harmful to teenagers than this one, it has yet to be found. It was once a real phenomenon among TV fans, but ended up being a scary and poorly written story that glorified suicide and did more harm than good.

Unfortunately, the young people who were influenced by this show didn't understand how bad it was until they could reflect on it years later. It was the responsibility of adults to control what goes into children's heads, and the adults at Netflix failed them.

The Witcher ( 2019-...)

All the hype about The Witcher was caused first by fans of the books and the game, and then by fans of Henry Cavill in a white wig. Now that neither of those things seem to be a part of the Netflix adaptation, it's hard to say what was so compelling about it in the first place.

Perhaps the casting of Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, the witcher himself, will be enough to keep viewers tuning in for the show's final days, but its overall journey has been nothing but a huge disappointment.

Elite (2018-2024)

Another show that started off very strong and made quite an impression on all Netflix viewers is the Spanish-language drama Elite. Of course, every time a foreign production becomes a worldwide hit, Netflix tries its best to make the most of it. That's why the show, which realistically should have ended after season 3, has run for 8 seasons instead.

Luckily for all those who stuck with the show out of loyalty, it will end very soon. Then we can go back to happily pretending that it wasn't stretched out and completely ruined.

Wednesday ( 2022-...)

Like many people, I saw no appeal in Wednesday, and yet it somehow managed to become a phenomenon. Maybe it has to do with the popularity of the original The Addams Family franchise, even though the Netflix production has almost nothing to do with it, or Tim Burton's involvement.

Either way, it is always much more exciting to see Jenna Ortega, who leads the show, without two black pigtails and in much deeper writing material.

You (2018-...)

When it premiered on Lifetime in 2018, You was a fascinating and genuinely chilling TV show about cold-blooded stalker Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager in New York who falls for an aspiring writer and begins stalking her.

Netflix picked up the show in its second season and practically made it into a whole new show, much less suspenseful, more soapy, and weirdly romanticizing the most dangerous behavior of men. So if you want to have a good experience with You, I'd recommend starting with season 1, or not starting at all.