Netflix original The Power Of The Dog is being removed from Netflix UK

It seems like we can’t go longer than 72 hours nowadays without a streaming service announcing a confounding decision to remove popular, original media from their platform. The latest update to send fans into a righteous outrage is Netflix’s decision to remove Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog—an original film that received a whopping 11 Academy Award nominations (the highest of any film in 2022)—from its UK platform. The last day to watch the film in the UK will be August 18. (No updates have been announced in this regard for Netflix US.)

Despite the very understandable backlash, however, this particular situation might be a little more reasonable than other axings in recent months. (Emphasis on might.) According to the U.K.-based culture magazine Radio Times, Netflix is not actually the sole distributor of the film; it was also co-produced by the BBC.

While nothing has been announced yet, this may mean that the film is getting pulled so it can be re-homed on BBC iPlayer, the broadcasting company’s own streaming service. There is a precedent for a move like this, at least. Last year, the BBC-backed Netflix original His House was also disappeared from the service, only to reappear on iPlayer a few days later.

In the meantime, the only sure way to preserve access to the film (or any film, for that matter) in perpetuity is to buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray—an option that luckily exists for the Benedict Cumberbatch-led Western thanks to The Criterion Collection. But until other streaming services follow the lead set by Paramount+ with its DVD release announcement for cancelled series Grease: Rise Of The Pink Ladies, it may be time to revisit old favorites as many times as it takes to burn them into your brain. Who knows what’s next on the chopping block.