The subject of film and television permanence in the streaming age has become a controversial one in the last year. Though it once seemed like subscription services would ultimately allow film and television projects to live forever digitally, that dream has died as online libraries have been purged and content has been removed. Because of this scary trend, there have been calls for an increase of streaming movies and shows being made available for purchase via physical media… but writer/director Mike Flanagan has thrown a bit of cold water on that idea where Netflix is concerned, saying that there would have to be significant behind-the-scenes changes made at the company for that to happen.
Flanagan was recently asked by a fan on Twitter about the possibility of his critically-acclaimed, popular Netflix limited series Midnight Mass becoming available on DVD, and the filmmaker’s response hasn’t exactly provide a lot of optimism. He explains that he has personally made many attempts to get the streaming service to release his original shows on physical media, but the company’s current “internal culture” doesn’t embrace the idea. Said Flanagan,
I tried for years to convince @netflix to release all of my work on physical media, they won’t do it. I think it would take a major shift in their internal culture (which isn’t impossible, just very unlikely at the moment).
To Mike Flanagan’s credit, he has had at least some success when it comes to getting his original Netflix creations on physical media. In 2019, his fantastic The Haunting Of Hill House made its way on to Blu-ray, and a The Haunting Of Bly Manor Blu-ray came out about two years later. For now, however, shows like Midnight Mass and The Midnight Club (not to mention Flanagan’s brilliant feature adaptation of Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game) are exclusively available on the streaming service, and it doesn’t sound like circumstances are going to change any time soon.
Calls for more physical media releases for streaming content have increased in recent months due to moves made by major services essentially deleting their original content. The ball got rolling last year when HBO Max started purging movies and shows, and similar moves have become a trend in the industry. Netflix got into the game earlier this year, notably removing Arrested Development from the company’s digital library, and just last month, Disney+ made the move to delete Marvel’s Runaways among other shows.
We’ll have to wait and see what the future holds for Mike Flanagan’s films and series on physical media, and we’ll keep our fingers crossed that he’ll eventually get his wish for more Netflix Blu-rays and DVDs. For now, Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, and Gerald’s Game continue to be only available with a Netflix subscription, though fans of the filmmaker can purchase copies of his other great works – including Doctor Sleep, Ouija: Origin Of Evil, and Oculus. His next Netflix show, The Fall Of The House Of Usher (based on the story by Edgar Allan Poe) is expected to be released later this year.