Netflix is among the best streaming services for a reason, but that doesn't stop it from occasionally losing some of its most popular shows.
It feels like in recent months Netflix has been losing more and more shows to rivals, such as Amazon Prime Video or Peacock, a trend that continues into July with the loss of three very popular shows.
Times are tough at Netflix, the original streaming service, which has been cutting jobs and scaling back its investments in shows after years of profligate spending.
And now it's about to lose more content from its library. Let's take a look at the three shows exiting stage right in July 2022.
1. Friday Night Lights
The popular sports drama Friday Night Lights, following a fictional American football team in Dillon, Texas, is leaving Netflix on August 1.
Running to a pretty huge 76 episodes across five seasons, Friday Night Lights premiered from 2006 to 2011. Surprisingly, the show was only added to Netflix US in 2021, meaning its one year old.
It's a bit nostalgic and we'll be sad to see the show leave Netflix.
2. 30 Rock
August 1 is something of a dark day for Netflix as 30 Rock, the satirical sitcom starring Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, and others, is leaving the service.
The perfect light entertainment, Netflix US viewers need to catch up fast or risk losing out on its 139 episodes across seven seasons.
Curiously, Netflix had 30 Rock on its service from 2014 to 2017 before losing out, so perhaps we'll see the long-running TV show come back in the future.
3. Parks and Recreation
Over in the land of Netflix UK, Parks and Recreation will also be leaving the service on August 1 after arriving in February 2021.
Spanning 126 episodes, P&R is an excellent comedy show with an all-star cast that you really don't want to miss or rewatch.
The common theme? P&R is produced by NBCUniversal, the same as Friday Night Lights and 30 Rock, suggesting these shows will find a new home on Peacock.
Is Netflix cursed? Why is it losing so many shows?
Netflix is losing shows because rival streaming service owners, in this case NBCUniversal (who own the Peacock streaming service), are not renewing content licences.
This is happening a lot, with Disney stripping Marvel content away from Netflix for example, and means that overall Netflix's library is becoming thinner, especially in regards to high-end content.
But the streaming service still has a lot of legacy content and its own catalogue of exclusives, so the future isn't all dark.
Stranger Things Season 4 has been tearing up the charts and is very well reviewed, while The Witcher has been a popular show for Netflix, too.
