Why Aren’t These Shows on Netflix?

For the most part, Netflix is a great one-stop-shop for anything you could ever want to watch. Sometimes though, you’ll find yourself wondering why a TV show isn’t available on there.

There are plenty of reasons why a show wouldn’t end up on Netflix, but none of them matter when you’re desperate to get your fix.

Say you want to rewatch the one episode of Seinfeld that you used to love back in the day. If you pull up Netflix to try and stream it, you will have no luck: Seinfeld isn’t on Netflix.

What if you wanted to relive some nostalgic days and check out a few old episodes of Doug or Hey Arnold! Oh well. You’ll have to check somewhere else because the streaming giant doesn’t have them.

What about something more recent? Let’s say you wanted to watch an episode of FX’s Emmy award-winning series The Americans. Don’t bother checking Netflix because it’s not there either.

Below, we’ve created a list of shows, new and old, that should definitely be added to Netflix.

Roseanne

Roseanne was a ratings-dominating sitcom throughout the 1990s that shined a light on blue-collar American families in an industry where that demographic felt frequently overlooked.

The series also confronted many social issues that affected the nation at that time, such as racial inequality and homophobia.

If you want to catch up on all the laughs and tears of the original series now that the Roseanne revival has debuted, you’ll have to sign up for an Amazon Prime account, because Netflix does not have it.

House

House’s titular protagonist (antagonist?) Dr. Gregory House was so unlikable that you couldn’t help but love him.

Episode after episode, he would throw around his contentious ego and drive the rest of the characters crazy, but he always figured out the medical mystery in the end.

He may have been a jerk, but he was a brilliant one. You actually used to be able to relive the entire series on Netflix, but sadly, not anymore.

Game of Thrones

Game of Throne is maybe the biggest show of the new millennium. Sure, that’s a big claim considering that in last 17 years we’ve had shows like LOST and Breaking Bad, but Game of Thrones is a whole different monster.

Throughout its seven seasons on HBO, it has consistently dominated in the ratings, and it is always the most talked about topic the day after it airs. Even its most recent season premiere was so huge that the traffic to it took down HBO’s website.

Sure, you can watch all the seasons on HBO Go or HBO Now, but adding it to Netflix could open it up to a whole new audience. Plus, plenty of other premium cable shows are already available to watch there, like Shameless and Dexter. It’s time Game of Thrones got added to the mix.

Preacher

Preacher is one of those shows that it’s hard to figure out if it’s underrated or not.

It’s clearly a well-written and executed series, but sometimes it can feel like people may not appreciate it for how great it really is.

Adding it to Netflix would fix that problem in a heartbeat. Within hours of hitting the streaming giant’s queue, Preacher could easily become one of the most watched shows, if even just out of mass curiosity.

With other AMC series like Into The Badlands, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Hell On Wheels having done so well on the service, it stands to reason that Preacher should also be added too.

The Big Bang Theory

This might come as a surprise to you, but you cannot watch The Big Bang Theory on Netflix.

If you want to enjoy the antics of Sheldon, Leonard, Penny, Howard, and Rajesh, you’ll have to look elsewhere because they are nowhere to be found. Surely those lovable nerds would dominate Netflix because it’s one of the highest rated sitcoms of all-time.

Unsolved Mysteries

Unsolved Mysteries was one of the greatest shows ever for scaring you to death with unfounded “fact.”

From the moment host Robert Stack would walk into view wearing his tan trench coat, it was clear that some crazy, unbelievable stuff was about to go down.

The original series ran for well over a decade, from 1987 until 2002, and never once failed to deliver the most insane stories about aliens or bigfoot they could find.

You can watch Forensic Files and The Twilight Zone on Netflix, so why not the one show that brilliantly blended the two?

The X-Files

The X-Files is an iconic sci-fi show that made household names out of its stars, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.

While both went on to star in other successful shows and movies, they’ll always be Agent’s Mulder and Scully in the hearts of the X-Files fans.

It’s unfortunate that the show isn’t available to watch on Netflix, but on the plus side, they did a revival season last year on FOX that was so successful it was green-lit for another 10-episode season.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Are You Afraid of the Dark? was nightmare fuel during the 1990s.

If you watched an episode of it before bed, maybe “The Tale of Laughing in the Dark” or  “The Tale of the Midnight Madness,” you were definitely not going to sleep well that night.

Additionally, the series was a launching pad for Elisha Cuthbert, who would go on to star on 24, Happy Endings, and The Ranch.

The Goosebumps series, as well as many other R.L. Stine based movies and shows, are available, so it’s only fair that at some point Netflix serves up Are You Afraid of the Dark? for streaming.

Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World is easily one of the most classic family/teen sitcoms of all-time. It’s right up there with Saved By The Bell and Full House.

The misadventures of Cory and Shawn and the whole gang doesn’t get the credit it deserves for helping to define a generation of TV watchers.

Even in its later years, it adapted to meet the experiences of its audience and that helped to seal its place in TV history.

The fact that it isn’t on Netflix is a real shame, especially considering that its Disney Channel spinoff, Girl Meets World is.