Move over, Hollywood: Netflix is here to stay! It’s safe to say that Netflix has changed the world of watching. Whether you’re watching TV shows or movies, it’s impossible for a conversation to continue without the mention of this popular streaming service. At the beginning of 2019, Netflix had close to 150 million subscribers on the platform and the numbers continue to rise. What Netflix continues to do is find new avenues and niches that aren’t necessarily being explored by other streaming services.
It all started with their original series. There’s House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Stranger Things. They continued the WB/CW show Gilmore Girls with Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. From crime dramas to action series, they’ve had it all. They’ve even branched into international distribution with Korean, Spanish, and French TV shows. Even with all of their original programming, the impact was finally felt when they started winning awards.
Netflix and their original shows and movies started getting nominated at the biggest award shows, and people took notice. The streaming service has won 10 Golden Globe Awards including Best Television Series – Drama for The Crown in 2017, Best Actor – Television Series for Aziz Ansari’s performance in Master of None, and Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright both won Best Actor and Actress – Television Series (Drama) for their work in House of Cards. It wasn’t until 2019 that Netflix really put its stamp on the Oscars.
Although they won Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2017 with The White Helmets and won Best Documentary (Feature) for Icarus in 2018, Netflix took home four Oscars in 2019. While Period. End of Sentence. won Best Documentary Short Subject, the 2019 film Roma won Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best 
Cinematography at the 2019 Academy Awards. All of this is to say that Netflix is no stranger to making movies that make an impact. Do you remember the hype behind Bird Box? That being said, Netflix has taken steps in a new direction.
Now, with the release of the film The Irishman, they’re changing the game. Instead of catching the movie on Netflix first, you can head to theaters to watch the film there. Based on the Steven Zaillian book I Heard You Paint Houses, it follows a former truck driver who becomes involved with the mob after becoming a hitman for a crime family. With the list of actors starring in this movie, other competing films vying for the Oscars should be shaking in their boots. Leading the way is Robert De Niro, alongside Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Among the three of them, De Niro has two Oscars, while Pacino and Pesci have one each. They’re joined by actors Ray Romano, Anna Paquin, and Harvey Keitel, among others.
Lastly, how could The Irishman go wrong with one of the best film directors of all time, Martin Scorsese? He and De Niro have worked on a whopping nine films together and the duo can do no wrong. Even Joe Pesci would often complete this threesome with roles in Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino. While the director has only won Best Director once for the film The Departed, many would argue that many of his other films also deserved the accolade.
While Netflix has always had its fair share of big-name actors, there’s something to be said when they are now distributing films with some of the best actors to ever grace the screen. Netflix has already started leaving its stamp on the celebrated awards, but let’s just say that as with everything else, it looks like Netflix is bound for a complete takeover.
