In 2019, Netflix is a behemoth of content, ranging from comedies to dramas to movies to children's programming to an interactive episode of "Black Mirror." It's easy to forget that it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the website.
Netflix originally started as a mail-order DVD service in 1998. A little over a decade later, the service was dabbling in online streaming as well. According to Quartz, Netflix — against better judgment — decided to separate DVD subscriptions and streaming subscriptions and up their prices. The company decided to name the DVD subscription Qwikster.
Their stock tanked, and Netflix lost around 800,000 subscribers in the immediate aftermath of the announcement in 2011. But two years later, "House of Cards" premiered as the first Netflix Original, and there's been no turning back since then.
With both the critical and viewer acclaim that came with "House of Cards," Netflix began creating more and more original content, and has since won Emmys, Golden Globes, and even Oscars. Plus, more people than ever are subscribed to it.