Copyright Screen Rant
While the end of Stranger Things is a shame, there's an even greater disappointment when it comes to Netflix. A lot of us are curious about what the future of the streaming service will look like once Stranger Things season 5 ends in late December 2025. The hit sci-fi/horror/coming-of-age series has been a massive hit for the platform, and it's hard to know what other shows can take its place in popular culture. But while we'll all miss watching the story of the Upside Down and Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), we can't forget about another Netflix shift that is just as upsetting. Netflix Was Once The Go-To Streaming Service For Horror A few years ago, if you wanted to watch a scary show at Halloween or any time of year, you would turn to Netflix. Mike Flanagan made five incredible horror shows for the streaming service, starting with The Haunting of Hill House in 2018. We still reference that epic tale of a family ruined by the mansion they lived in all the time, and it's a constant rewatch for many. Flanagan continued his heavy, emotional, and horrifying storytelling with The Haunting of Bly Manor in 2020, which brilliantly took on the Henry James novella The Turn of the Screw. In 2021, Flanagan's next series, Midnight Mass, was released and followed the strange consequences of a new priest coming to an island. His last two shows, The Midnight Club and The Fall of the House of Usher, featured more horror tropes like haunted mansions and jump scares, and came out in 2022 and 2023. Netflix had some other solid horror shows, including the terrifying show Marianne, which was released in 2019. That unsettling tale of a witch who haunts several characters, coupled with Flanagan's work, put Netflix on the horror TV storytelling map. Netflix Lost Out On Mike Flanagan, Who Has A Deal With Prime Video Sadly, Netflix lost out on the chance to have more Mike Flanagan horror shows, and that's a bigger disappointment than Stranger Things coming to an end. In 2022, Variety reported that Flanagan's company, Intrepred Pictures, which also includes his partner Trevor Macy, had a new deal with Prime Video. It's exciting that Flanagan is now making scary series for Amazon's streaming service, including the upcoming TV adaptation of Stephen King's devastating and terrifying story Carrie. However, it's a shame that Flanagan had to leave Netflix, because he was on a creative roll there for a while. Since he had five shows that came out in the fall, it would have been cool if Netflix could release a new Flanagan horror show every October. He has such a specific and compelling storytelling brand that dives into vulnerable topics and features powerful character growth while also scaring us all the time. If Flanagan and Netflix had kept their deal, this would have been thrilling for horror fans who are always searching out fresh takes on tropes. Flanagan does things differently, and his shows like The Midnight Club explore death and other big ideas while being genuinely creepy. Another filmmaker or showrunner would take a story about dying teenagers who are living in a haunted house and focus on unsettling ghosts and maybe add some creatures, too. Flanagan packs the story with plenty of spirits and makes sure you see the characters in the middle of the night, which contributes to the intense atmosphere. But the characters have honest chats about how weird it is to face your own death at such a young age, and they help each other figure out how to find acceptance. It's tough to imagine that happening on any other horror show, and it's amazing to have such an emotional viewing experience. Too many horror series are about generic final girls or masked killers who don't bring much to the table. Flanagan's work is so much more unique and special than that. And since we all knew that we could turn to Netflix for a new Flanagan show, it was a positive thing for the platform. Will Netflix Make Great Horror Shows Again? After losing Mike Flanagan, it's hard to know if Netflix will release more fantastic horror shows in the future. While the last few years saw exciting thriller releases like 2025's Wayward, it's hard to say that any slasher or supernatural shows made much of a splash. In October 2022, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities was released on the platform, which was the same time that Mike Flanagan's second-to-last release, The Midnight Club, came out. But while critics liked Cabinet, it doesn't come up much when we talk about our favorite scary shows. More recently, Netflix released the paranormal series Dead Boy Detectives in 2024, but it was canceled after one season and was nowhere near as fascinating as Flanagan's work. It's hard to know if the streaming service can become a go-to place for the horror genre again, especially now that Flanagan is making shows for Prime Video and Stranger Things season 5 is ending in November 2025. Slasher fans who also appreciate stories about haunted houses, demons, and spirits can only cross their fingers that the platform can work with other talented showrunners and scare us once again, like they inevitably will with Stranger Things. And let's hope Flanagan can make several horror shows in a row at Prime Video, although he's busy with adapting King's The Dark Tower, too.
