From rental shelf to commissioning desk
Netflix spent its first decade posting DVDs before launching a streaming service, at first called Watch Now, in January 2007. For several years it filled that service with other studios' films and series. The move into making its own began in 2011, when it outbid American cable networks with a straight-to-series order for House of Cards, the political drama led by Kevin Spacey and directed by David Fincher.
The first exclusive to actually reach subscribers was Lilyhammer, a Norwegian drama that had already aired on NRK1; Netflix took the American rights and put the whole first season online at once in February 2012, breaking with the one-episode-a-week habit of broadcast TV. House of Cards followed on 1 February 2013, marketed as the first 'Netflix Original', and Orange Is the New Black arrived that July. By 2016 Netflix was releasing an estimated 30 original series or films a year, and by August 2022 originals made up half of its US library.
Britain on screen
UK viewers have had Netflix since January 2012, when Britain and Ireland were its first stop in Europe. British production has since become central: The Crown opened in November 2016 and Sex Education in January 2019, while Black Mirror and Top Boy were picked up after their runs on Channel 4. Netflix announced a production hub at Shepperton Studios in 2019 and took a long-term lease on Longcross Studios in Surrey in 2021.
Series in other languages travel just as well. Within a week of its release on 17 September 2021, Squid Game was the service's most-watched show in many markets, the UK included. More recently the British miniseries Baby Reindeer (2024) and Adolescence (2025), set near Doncaster, were both critically acclaimed.
Key dates
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Streaming switched on
Netflix launches its streaming service, initially called Watch Now, alongside its DVD rentals.
Source: Wikipedia: Netflix
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Netflix arrives in the UK
The UK and Ireland become the first European countries to get the service.
Source: Wikipedia: Netflix
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Lilyhammer goes online
Netflix releases the whole first season of the Norwegian drama at once, its first exclusive series.
Source: Wikipedia: Netflix
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House of Cards premieres
The political drama is released as the first production marketed as a 'Netflix Original'.
Source: Wikipedia: Netflix
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The Crown begins
Peter Morgan's drama about Elizabeth II releases its first season worldwide.
Source: Wikipedia: The Crown (TV series)
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Squid Game released
The South Korean drama becomes the service's most-watched show in many markets, including the UK, within a week.
Source: Wikipedia: Netflix