Netflix won the streaming wars long ago and now boasts 300 million subscribers worldwide. But its massive success has come at a cost -- namely, anyone looking to criticize the streaming age (and there is a lot to criticize) will highlight Netflix as one of the chief architects of our current moment, in which we find ourselves surrounded by a homogenous gloop of generic streaming movies and series. To be sure, Netflix has been largely responsible for this state of affairs simply by virtue of being
the first and biggest streamer in the game. Still, it's not entirely fair to dismiss the company and its vast catalog of media outright.
For one thing, amid the never-ending waves of "content," the streamer is also delivering some truly great TV shows. Take "Adolescence," for example, which is one of the best Netflix originals ever. This mini-series comprises four episodes that were each shot in one continuous take. But that was arguably the least impressive thing about "Adolescence," which tackled its titular topic by focusing on Owen Cooper's Jamie Miller, a young boy in Liverpool who's been corrupted by toxic online ideologies about manhood and masculinity. The show's performances are outstanding across the board, with Cooper and Stephen Graham, who plays Jamie's father Eddie Miller and co-created the series, representing particular standouts. Both were nominated for Emmys (making Cooper the youngest nominee in the history of his category), with the show earning 13 nominations overall.
With all that in mind, you can hardly say Netflix doesn't know how to make a decent show. Indeed, the streamer has been delivering multiple quality series even while churning out unreasonably expensive dross like "The Electric State" ... and it seems that Brad Pitt might have something to do with it. (The good stuff, not Joe and Anthony Russo's awful movie.)
Read more: 15 Best Netflix Limited Series, Ranked
Plan B Came Out The Netflix Gate Strong
Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment, has been around for some time now. Originally founded in November 2001 by Pitt, Brad Grey, Kristin Hahn, and Pitt's then wife Jennifer Aniston, Plan B has since produced some truly excellent films and series. On the movie side, the company is responsible for such modern classics as "The Departed," "12 Years a Slave," and "Moonlight," all of which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. More recently, Plan B also produced "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" and the Pitt-led "F1"(which, though it had exciting racing scenes, also came with a bloated runtime). But the company has also produced some excellent small-screen fare and has recently had a string of Netflix successes, including "Adolescence."
Plan B's first TV venture was 2008's "Pretty/Handsome" for FX, which didn't make it beyond the pilot stage. But the company has since seen better success and debuted its first Netflix series in 2016 in the form of the sci-fi drama "The OA." Though it only ran for two seasons (each eight episodes long), the show was one of Netflix's better offerings. It starred Brit Marling as Prairie Johnson, a young woman who suddenly returns to the town where she used to live after inexplicably going missing for seven years, now referring to herself as "The OA" and having seemingly developed the ability to see despite previously being blind. The series garnered a positive critical reaction and still bears a respectable 84% on Rotten Tomatoes to this day. Plan B was off to a good start in terms of its contributions to Netflix, then. But the best was still to come.
Plan B Hasn't Missed Yet With Its Netflix Series
Netflix canceled "The OA" after two seasons, with the show ending on a cliffhanger in 2019. But Plan B wasn't done. After producing the sci-fi neo-Western series "Outer Range" for Prime Video from 2022 to 2024, the company came back to Netflix with "3 Body Problem." This sci-fi series was an adaptation of Liu Cixin's Chinese novel series "Remembrance of Earth's Past" and debuted with an eight-episode first season on March 21, 2024. The story follows multiple scientists who encounter an extraterrestrial civilization and uncover an existential threat to Earth. "3 Body Problem" marked yet another critical hit for Plan B and Netflix and earned six Emmy nominations. It was no surprise, then, that Netflix renewed the show for a second and third season.
But even "3 Body Problem" wasn't anywhere near the cultural phenomenon that "Adolescence" came to represent when it debuted in 2025. Aside from being a massive hit for Netflix, it also prompted wider conversations about social media and the toxic influence of grifter internet personalities such as Andrew Tate. In the UK, for example, politicians called for the show to be screened in Parliament and schools, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer supporting the idea. "Adolescence" was then made available to watch for free in UK secondary schools. To think that none of this would have happened if Brad Pitt hadn't started a production company back in 2001.
Plan B is currently working on two series for Prime Video, but let's hope we get more Netflix shows from the company. We do know that the same company that co-produced "Adolescence," the Sheffield-based Warp Films, is working on a remake of the infamously disturbing TV movie "Threads," Whether the final product will run on Netflix or whether Plan B is involved remains unclear at this point, but considering the latter's Netflix track record, Warp might do well to get Pitt and co. back on board.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.
