How Everyone Got Lost in Netflix’s Endless Library

Journalist Willy Staley examines how Netflix’s rise to dominance was fueled by strategic debt rather than traditional venture capital. This debt allowed the company to rapidly expand its content library, particularly through the creation of Netflix Originals, which now make up a significant portion of the platform’s offerings. The company’s most recent catalog update reveals more than 16,000 titles of content—far more than any one person could realistically consume in a lifetime. Nonetheless, Netflix’s subscriber base is paying for exactly that: a fathomless sense of streaming abundance and infinite choice. Netflix has since signaled an end to its expansionary era, as layoffs and the introduction of ad-supported tiers mark a shift in its growth strategy.