Netflix isn’t really in a position to gloat these days, seeing as how it’s being forced to reckon with the reality of the “there must always be growth!” business model it adopted a long time ago (blame capitalism, not Netflix), but there’s no harm in relishing past glories when times are tough. From that angle, it makes perfect sense for Netflix to be making a comedy series about the final Blockbuster Video location, holding its own against the forward march of progress. It’s like a human being appreciating a noble Sumatran tiger… It may seem as if the humans have successfully obliterated the planet’s tiger population, but it’s not like humans are doing so great these days. (Netflix is the humans.)
Is that a tortured metaphor? Sure, but there’s only so much to say about Netflix’s Blockbuster, the upcoming Netflix comedy series about the staff at the final Blockbuster Video location in the United States. The streaming service released a preview image today featuring stars Randall Park and Melissa Fumero wearing Blockbuster shirts and holding up Blockbuster cases in front of a bunch of Blockbuster stuff, and they both seem like they’re having a good time. That’s something! The official logline for the show says it’s about exploring “what it takes—and more specifically who it takes—for a small business to succeed against all odds.”
So it’s like a “plucky underdogs holding their own against The Man” story, but The Man in this case is… Netflix and the whole streaming revolution killing off brick-and-mortal video rental stores. So yeah, weird. But it’s not as if releasing this exclusively through Blockbuster Video, like Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals or something, would make any more sense. (That’s the sort of obscure Blockbuster reference we hope to see on this show, Netflix. Don’t let us down.)