Netflix has begun to roll out a new feature which allows subscribers to truly express their feelings on a show that they really rather like.
Previously, to aide Netflix's algorithm, viewers were offered the chance to give their verdict on the shows and movies they watch with two binary choices, "I like this" and "Not for me". Now though, the streamer is branching out and Netflix has added a third choice, "Love this!".
For the present, the feature is only available on desktop and there are no details in Netflix's guides about its arrival or wider rollout to TV and mobile platforms. But it does hint at a future where Netflix asks its subscribers to literally vote on the popularity of its content, as well as voting with their eyes and viewing habits.
As Netflix offers up more and more of its own shows and movies, the new feature is likely down to a drive to know if something is working and if viewers would like to see more of it.
Netflix has been on a cancelling spree recently. Sci-fi epic Another Life, hugely acclaimed family-drama The Baby-Sitters Club and the Mindy Kaling-scripted comedy Never Have I Ever have all gone, and yesterday (March 24), acclaimed horror show Archive 81 went the same way.
This got us thinking. Normally, if a show is performing well, Netflix is happy to announce another season, or multiple more in the case of the likes of Bridgerton or glossy movie Red Notice. But right now there are some amazing shows that sadly appear to be hanging in the balance, awaiting season renewals. Officially, they're listed as pending, waiting for Netflix's thumbs up or thumbs down.
So, in the spirit of Netflix's new wish for praise, here are shows that fully deserve some "Love This!" support.
In From The Cold
This dynamic drama scored over 85 million hours of viewing time across the world in its first two weeks on Netflix, but the streamer has yet to greenlight any more of it.
Created by Adam Glass, whose credits include Criminal Minds and Supernatural as well as a number of Marvel comics, In From The Cold follows Margarita Levieva's Jenny Franklin, a single mother in suburban New Jersey.
Her life is turned upside down when the CIA arrests her and forces her to confront her long-buried past as highly trained, bio-engineered Russian agent Anya Petrova and become an asset in the battle to stop the influence of Russia's underworld drug trade.
Hard-hitting, dark and thrilling, this one definitely deserves a second run.
Young Wallander
We lavished praise over the second season of this stylish reboot, calling it "Netflix's best detective drama", because, well, it is.
A grown-up, accomplished and gripping take on Henning Mankell's dour detective, which takes the veteran cop and reworks him to be a young man on the streets in modern-day Stockholm. Both seasons have been brilliant, but Adam Pålsson is really growing into a superb leading man and he deserves to lead another season and crack another fiendish mystery.
The Chair
Sandra Oh's whipsmart comedy-drama about the twisted and quirky goings on at the fictional Pembroke University is a joy that deserves to be extended.
Oh played Professor Ji-Yoon Kim, the newly appointed chair of the English department at Pembroke University. The first woman chosen for the position, she attempts to wrangle her exasperated colleagues and navigate her difficult personal life at the same time, with dramatic, and often very, very funny consequences.
A tidy six episodes, this one deserves at least the same again.
Pieces Of Her
This thrilling new drama, which stars Toni Colette and Bella Heathcote, has gotten off to a good start with a number of appearances in Netflix's weekly Top 10 most-viewed content. As yet, however, the show is still without confirmation of a second season.
Heathcote plays Andy, a teenage girl on a Saturday afternoon trip to the mall with her mother, Laura. When the pair find themselves caught in a deadly mass shooting at a local diner, Laura suddenly turns into John Wick and eliminates the gunmen. This sudden revelation changes everything for Andy and brings out a number of characters from her mother's past, a past that's clearly nothing like Andy imagined.
A familiar story, but one told with style and conviction, we'd like to see this story develop over another season at least.
Black Summer
Netflix's searing zombie drama Black Summer has thus far enjoyed two seasons, but a third has yet to be greenlit despite it clearly deserving one.
Beginning six weeks after a zombie apocalypse, Black Summer again has a familiar feel in its setup and subject matter, but the performances are compelling, the action gruesome and we feel like it's really hitting its stride. It deserves another season, especially considering how many The Walking Dead managed to drag out.
