Netflix is really trying to sell us on its new rating system, which goes live today
As of today, Netflix users are no longer required to give an undue amount of thought to rating the latest comedy special or Arrested Development rewatch, as the streaming platform has officially launched its new thumbs-up, thumbs-down system. Gone are the days of agonizing over whether a three-star rating of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was entirely accurate, let alone worth being mocked for by the people you share your Netflix account with. Instead, users now simply indicate whether they liked something or not with a digital digit.
Some people were critical of the switch when the news broke last month, as it meant we could no longer play Leonard Maltin at home, but had to step up our game a bit to be a Siskel or Ebert. Netflix understands subscriber trepidation over a rating system that won’t let them to hedge their bets with a two-star review of something that isn’t really contributing something new to the cultural dialogue, but is solid viewing during your hungover state. The company’s released this video to help folks understand the new yea-or-nay dichotomy, which it likens to online dating (boy, Netflix is never going to let go of that whole “and chill” thing, is it?).
As Netflix explains, the old stars-and-gripes system was intended to predict what viewers might enjoy. And the number of stars a property earned over time never reflected its popularity, which is why it decided to give up those rankings in place of something simpler. And really, what’s easier than upvoting or downvoting? That is, on anything but Disqus? In any case, Netflix really hopes you’ll swipe right on its handy new system.