Netflix left shareholders shocked this week when it announced that it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. The news also rippled through Hollywood, even making it to the late shows.
On Wednesday night’s “Daily Show,” Trevor Noah weighed in on some of the reasons that the streaming giant’s subscribers might be saying goodbye. He speculated that the company’s crack down on password sharing and the growing competition might have something to do with it.
But, according to Noah, the biggest blow to Netflix was losing one of its heartthrobs.
“Regé-Jean Page leaving ‘Bridgerton,’” he said. “I’m sorry, you want us to pay 15 bucks a month without that ass? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. $12.99 at best!”
It’s a compelling theory, but it seems like viewers might enjoy the view from behind Season 2 male lead Jonathan Bailey even more. The second installment recently became Netflix’s most-watched English language series ever, with more than 627.11 million hours watched. It surpassed a record set by Season 1, which now second on that list.
While Netflix’s subscriber loss has prompted some concern, Noah insists there isn’t a reason to panic just yet. In fact, he argues that this was bound to happen eventually.
“The reason Netflix became Netflix in the first place is because it was the only thing out there, but now there are tons of streaming services. People want to know, ‘Is this the one that’s worth my money? Does it have the widest variety of options?’” he continued, joking that there might be another service that would fit the bill a little better.
“Like, what if someone wants to watch ‘Champions League,’ and ‘Star Trek: Picard,’ and ‘1883’? Plus ‘Rugrats’ and ‘Paw Patrol’ for the kids?” he said. “I mean, only Paramount+ has that full range and quantity. And most importantly, they keep me employed, so that seems like a pretty good deal to me.”