Every month, licenses expire and movie and TV show titles are removed from streaming services like Netflix. In some cases, Netflix has even removed (and continues to remove) its own original series to make way for new content and to keep the interface fresh and up to date. Already in March, for example, movies like Air Force One, Shutter Island, Cake, and Scream 4 have been removed, as have shows like Borderliner (a Netflix original) and all three seasons of Sundance series Hap and Leonard.
What’s going next? We’re here to update you on which movies and TV shows will be leaving Netflix this month as well as when they’ll be leaving so you can watch them before they’re gone.
Arrested Development, seasons 1-5 – 2013-2019 (leaving March 15)
In a shocking and puzzling move, Netflix confirmed that it would be removing all five seasons of the popular sitcom Arrested Development from its roster. This includes the last two seasons that Netflix produced following the show’s cancellation on its original network Fox.
The show, which is best described as an absurdist humor sitcom, has become a cult favorite among fans. It’s also the kind of show you can pick up on later and still get the inside jokes. With a star-studded cast (including Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, and the late, great Jessica Walter) and Ron Howard as both executive producer and narrator, Arrested Development’s seemingly premature Fox cancellation had fans upset. Netflix revived the show six years later, but with the news that the show will no longer have a home on the streaming service, now is the time to watch (or re-watch) Arrested Development before it’s gone once again.
The Lego Collection – 2013-2019 (leaving March 16)
If you have a young child who loves Lego and superheroes, or maybe you fall into that category yourself, you’ll want to take note that the entire collection of Lego movies, TV shows, and short films featuring both DC and Marvel characters, as well as popular franchises like Jurassic Park, are leaving Netflix this month. This includes Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered, Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled, Lego Jurassic World: Secret Exhibit, Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Black Panther, Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Guardians of the Galaxy, Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Maximum Overload, Lego Marvel Spider-Man: Vexed by Venom, and Lego Jurassic World: Legend of Isla Nublar.
The suspicion is that many, if not all, of these titles will make their way to Disney+ or HBO Max in the future. With that said, there’s no official confirmation just yet. So, enjoy these before they’re gone, or prepare your little ones for no longer being able to access them.
Shtisel season 1-3 – 2013-2021 (leaving March 25)
This Israeli TV drama has been available on Netflix since 2018. But five years later, all three seasons of Shtisel will soon leave the popular streamer.
Shtisel is centered around the fictional Haredi family living in an off-the-grid town in Jerusalem. The family is headed by the rabbi patriarch and their community follows strict Haredi customs. But when certain family members violate these traditions and instead show support for a more secular life, it causes chaos within the family and among their neighbors, including those in the adjacent religious fundamentalist community. Shtisel notably stars Shira Haas, who earned an Emmy Award nomination for her role in the series Unorthodox.
The Imitation Game — 2014 (leaving March 28)
Benedict Cumberbatch stars in this historical drama based on the Andre Hodges 1983 biography Alan Turing: The Enigma about the man who worked to secretly decrypt German intelligence messages for the British government during World War II. The movie, which was the highest-grossing independent film that year, also earned eight Academy Award nominations and won Best Adapted Screenplay.
The story is set in the ‘50s and sees Turing looking back at his time during the war, recalling events that occurred. The Imitation Game has been praised for its screenplay (it won the Oscar that year) as well as for Cumberbatch’s nuanced performance, so it’s one worth watching if you haven’t seen it already.
Brokeback Mountain — 2005 (leaving March 31)
You have until the end of the month to watch (or re-watch) the neo-Western romantic drama Brokeback Mountain, which stars Jake Gyllenhaal and the late Heath Ledger as two American cowboys who can’t quite shake (or quit) their emotional and physical attraction to one another. An unconventional love story, Brokeback Mountain earned plenty of accolades at the Academy Awards, with many believing that the movie should have won Best Picture over Crash.
Brokeback Mountain was also the subject of controversy, including censorship and criticism from conservative media outlets, as well as questions about the choice to have two straight men play gay cowboys. Yet there’s no question that Brokeback Mountain was one of the most talked about movies of the 2000s, and it has been credited with helping popularize queer cinema.
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