Don't Encourage Us

Fallout (2024): The Wizard of Oz Template. Plus, Is Netflix Making Bad Shows on Purpose?

Episode Summary

Is Netflix intentionally making forgettable shows to inflate viewer numbers for advertisers? The hosts build that case then reverse-engineer Amazon's Fallout as a Wizard of Oz retelling, break down when Hollywood should remake international IP versus just dubbing it, and explain why Zack Snyder's career has one obvious fix he keeps ignoring.

Episode Notes

Is Netflix deliberately making its shows easy to ignore — and if so, what does that mean for every advertiser writing them a check? The hosts unpack the streaming advertising problem no one's naming, then turn to Amazon's $153 million bet on Fallout and find a classic storytelling template hiding underneath the wasteland.

In this episode:

• 0:00 — The Killing (2007): Danish crime drama, political intrigue, and when cultural specificity breaks a remake
• 11:30 — The remake decision tree: what actually determines whether you dub it or rebuild it
• 17:00 — Rebel Moon and the Zack Snyder problem: why the fix is obvious and why he won't take it
• 27:00 — Director partnerships, ego, and why the best blockbusters have two people in charge
• 33:00 — #Too2ndScreen: the case that Netflix is a billboard company selling the illusion of attention
• 48:00 — Why streaming ad dollars may be worth a fraction of what platforms claim
• 53:00 — YouTube as the real threat to every streaming service
• 57:00 — Fallout: $153 million, a hero's journey, and the Wizard of Oz hiding in the wasteland
• 1:02:00 — Retro-futurism and the alternate America that never had a counterculture
• 1:06:00 — The Brotherhood of Steel as survival strategy: why cults work when everything else fails
• 1:09:00 — Season 2 predictions and what the show still has to answer

Stream The Killing (2007) and Rebel Moon (2024) on Netflix. Stream Fallout (2024) on Amazon Prime.