Netflix Viewers Are Petitioning the Streaming Giant to Stop Cutting Off the End Credits

To help us decide what to watch next as easily as possible, Netflix always serves up a few suggestions immediately after we’ve finished a program. For many viewers, it’s a little too immediate: The credits shrink to a small window, and Netflix’s recommendations take center stage.

Composer Daniel Pemberton, whose most recent scores include Netflix original films Enola Holmes (2020) and The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020), likened it to a rushed meal at a restaurant. “The second that final spoonful goes in your mouth the waiter runs over, noisily clears the plates away and shoves a new menu under your nose, while insisting that you order the set menu immediately,” he wrote for The Guardian.

While people do often walk away or switch to another program as soon as the credits roll, plenty of others consider them an important part of the viewing experience. The music alone justifies sitting tight for a little while longer, and the credits provide the perfect opportunity to contemplate whatever you’ve just seen. They also pay homage to the hundreds of people who brought the project to life. And, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe always reminds us, not all movies actually end when the credits start to roll.

Netflix doesn’t outright prevent viewers from watching the credits. If you click on the minimized box, the credits will spring back to full screen and remain there until the very end. But if you take too long fumbling for the remote, you might miss your chance—Netflix’s autoplay feature often begins the next preview in mere seconds, in which case you’d have to go back to your home screen and restart the previous program to see the credits.

A video producer named Mark Boszko got so fed up with the arrangement that he launched a petition on Change.org. He’s not asking Netflix to get rid of its end-of-program advertisements across the board; rather, he just wants the platform to let viewers choose to have the full credits play as their default setting.

Boszko’s petition is evidence that he’s far from the only person who cares about the cause. So far, more than 10,500 people have signed it—you can do so here.

[h/t The Guardian]