This is a David and Goliath story – with a twist. Almost exactly 15 years ago today the owner of Warner Bros. and HBO pushed back on Hollywood and Wall Street hype about a streaming upstart named Netflix.

“Everybody hates Netflix,” she said to a visitor from overseas who inquired about the streamer. And it’s true. Even though lots of people in Hollywood depend on Netflix for their livelihoods, they hate the company and what it has done to a century-old, once-thriving business. But up to now, almost nobody has said it out loud.

Netflix has released its semiannual viewing report for the first half of 2025, with a breakout hit that originated outside the U.S. topping the series rankings. It’s not Squid Game — at least not according to the way Netflix ranks its programming.

It's so common these days for TV shows to bloat themselves beyond all reason - more than three years later, I think I'm still watching the Season 4 finale of "Stranger Things" - that it feels ungrateful to complain about the opposite problem.

The first four episodes of Stranger Things 5 release Wednesday, November 26 just as everyone gets off of work – and out of school – for the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s the perfect holiday watch party event, and Netflix is keeping that philosophy alive with the release of Volume 2 on Christmas Day and the series finale on New Year’s Eve.