Hello and welcome back.
When I started this episode, I thought it was going to be purely about the birth of Netflix.
But partway through, I realized how personal everything felt.
So I changed this very factual episode, hardcore Netflix story into a personal story.
And I hope that by doing that, you can actually reflect on your own experience.
I want you to think about the transition from movie rental stores to entertainment online.
It's an interesting topic, and I hope you enjoy it.
Can you remember what you did on Friday and Saturday nights when you were a kid?
I grew up in a very normal middle-class family in suburban California.
My family was close.
So for me, Friday and Saturday nights were very special because we spent time together.
We'd often order pizza from Roundtable and then play card games or board games.
Other nights, we watched movies.
Movie nights were my jam.
Back then, and this was the 90s, Our family movie nights took place on our couch,
and they involved lots of pillows, blankets, and of course, popcorn.
We had cable TV, like most people, and relied heavily on the TV Guide to know what was playing.
The TV Guide was a weekly publication that came in the mail with all of the showtimes.
When there was nothing worth watching on TV, We'd all jump in the car and drive to Blockbuster.
If you don't know what Blockbuster is, it was a massive movie rental company in the U.S.