Back when Netflix first started, it was a DVD based service. Users who wished to watch a movie would request it and it would arrive in the mail. In 2007, things changed: Netflix expanded its horizons to the internet streaming service that it is recognized as today. Users are now able to access their favorite shows and movies online and through the Netflix app. Netflix has everyone’s favorite television shows and movies, but also produces original content. The first original television show Netflix released was House Of Cards in 2013. Since then, many more originals have been released. Both original movies and TV shows have been released as well as shows that have been picked up to continue on Netflix: most famously, the Full House and Gilmore Girls revivals. Netflix updates its content monthly.

Netflix fans became excited when news of a job listing posted on Netflix.com opened up. The listing, under the title, “Director, Licensing, Merchandising and Promotion,” contains the following description:

“…We’re looking to establish a licensing and merchandising approach to help amplify fervor around key titles by developing new channels for consumers and communities to interact with Netflix… We are pursuing consumer products and associated promotion because we believe it will drive meaningful show awareness/buzz with more tangible, curated ways to interact with our most popular content.”

When University of New Haven freshmen were asked which Netflix originals they would like to see merchandise for, the results varied from hits such as Stranger Things and Daredevil to Orange Is the New Black and Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Currently on HotTopic.com, Netflix has merchandise available to purchase for Stranger Things.

“We want licensed merchandise to help promote our titles so they become part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time,” Netflix said. Currently, Netflix has over 93 million subscribers. Netflix continues to grow these numbers with more original series and other content: currently, they are currently working on many more originals such as the live-action revival of The Magic School Bus.

With competitors such as Amazon Video, Hulu, and YouTube Red, Netflix still manages to captivate its viewers with original content. Stranger Things, which aired in July of 2016, gained over 14 million viewers, and is one of the most viewed originals they have released. Behind Stranger Things, both Making a Murderer and Daredevil reached over 13 million viewers. Viewers are excited to see what Netflix originals will get merchandise.