Bland, easy to follow, for fans of everything: what has the Netflix algorithm done to our films?

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the streaming giant began making films guided by data that aimed to please a vast audience, the results were often generic, forgettable, artless affairs. But is there a happy ending? By Phil Hoad. Read by Adam Sims. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is The Guardian.
0:09.1	Here's the truth about AI.
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0:43.8	Welcome to The Guardian Long Read,
0:45.9	showcasing the best long-form journalism
0:48.0	covering culture, politics and new thinking.
0:50.6	For the text version of this and all our long reads,
0:53.0	go to the Guardian.com forward slash long read.
0:59.6	Bland, easy to follow for fans of everything.
1:04.4	What is the Netflix algorithm done to our films?
1:08.0	By Phil Hode.
1:09.7	Read by Adam Sims.
1:16.2	When the annals of 2025 at the movies are written, no one will remember the electric state.
1:24.3	The film, a sci-fi comic book adaptation, is set in a world in which sentient robots
1:30.3	have lost a war with humans. Netflix blew a reported $320 million on it, making it the
1:39.3	14th most expensive film ever made. But it tanked.
1:45.0	Though the Electric State initially claimed the number one spot on the streamer,
	...

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