Bojack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg calls out Netflix for skipping credits. The company has been extremely busy as of late, ensuring that their level of content is able to legitimately compete with the new and growing rise of streaming service competitors.
Much has changed in the streaming landscape since Netflix first arrived and grew into the entertainment powerhouse that it currently is. Perhaps the biggest threat currently to Netflix, however, is the recent arrival of Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. The much-anticipated service launched in November and since then, it has enjoyed a rather stellar couple of months. One of the network’s biggest hits, the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian, has already managed to captivate Star Wars fans - especially with it’s unexpected introduction of the character unofficially known as “Baby Yoda”. By creating a substantial list of original content, in addition to its extensive licensing over numerous familiar and beloved franchises, Disney could eventually end up gaining total dominance over the streaming market. This, of course, is something that Netflix is actively fighting against. Whether by beefing up their own content options or coming up with options that give the viewer a smoother overall experience, Netflix wants to redesign and facilitate how its customers watch films and TV. Unfortunately, this desire sometimes alienates those it hopes to entice.
As creator of one of Netflix’s most popular animated series, BoJack Horseman, Raphael Bob-Waksberg has now been thrust into the spotlight over his disdain for one of Netflix’s most common practices. For quite some time now, Netflix programs and films end with a prompt to watch a trailer, which overtakes whatever the viewer was originally watching. The option is disruptive to some and helpful to others, but since responding to a tweet from musician Stevie Van Zandt that criticized the practice, Bob-Waksberg has become the unofficial spokesperson of #LetCreditsRoll. Even going as far as indicating that he’d rather work with another network or service that doesn’t support the practice, Bob-Waksberg tweeted:
The tweets have found agreement with many Netflix subscribers who detest the streaming service’s efforts to move things along for viewers. The BoJack Horseman creator argues that a sudden and (in this case) unwanted shift from programming to a trailer is invasive, and can even ruin the ending of a film or program for some. Another aspect of the argument is that shrinking the credits is disrespectful to those who worked on a particular Netflix film or TV show. Without keeping the credits as the central onscreen focus, those who put in an untold amount of time and effort to create something for an audience is reduced to mere indigestible content. For some filmmakers or showrunners this perhaps isn’t that big of a deal, but Bob-Waksberg clearly wants to see the end of the custom - or at the very least, to give viewers the option over whether or not they want a trailer prompt. Netflix does provide the option to turn off the auto-trailer prompt, but at present the streaming giant does not allow for viewers to put a complete stop to it.
While it’s understandable that Netflix is trying everything it can to make streaming comfortable and convenient, Bob-Waksberg has a point. Not only is the trailer prompt invasive, but it poses an annoying obstacle to those who want to check something in the credits at the end of their chosen film or program. Like it or not, the credits are a part of our entertainment. They may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but there are those who enjoy the gentle come down from the story that credits provide. To take that away is a disservice to the creators as well as audiences.
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Source: Raphael Bob-Waksberg
