Dear Streaming Services,
Last night I opened an app to continue watching a show. This should have taken seven seconds.
Instead, I saw a giant advertisement, a row of new releases, three collections chosen “for me,” a sporting event I have never watched, and twelve shows starring people who look worried in dark rooms.
The show I watched yesterday was nowhere to be found.
I checked “Continue Watching.” It was not there. I searched for the title. The app suggested something with one similar word. I checked my list. My list had apparently become a museum of things I saved in 2022.
Eventually I found the show. Then I had to figure out which episode I was on.
This is not entertainment. This is unpaid detective work.
Continue Watching Should Actually Continue
The most useful row in any streaming app is “Continue Watching.” It should be easy to find and boringly reliable.
If I watched something recently, put it there. If I stopped with eight minutes left, remember that. If the credits were playing, ask whether I finished instead of guessing.
Do not remove a show because I took a week off. Humans have jobs, families, errands, and dogs who require emotional support during thunderstorms. We cannot always finish a season by Tuesday.
Let users choose how long items stay in the row. Give us a simple menu with “Keep,” “Mark Finished,” and “Remove.” That would solve most of the problem.
Show Me Why Something Disappeared
Sometimes a movie leaves a service because a license ends. That happens. What should not happen is waking up to discover that half of my list vanished without a note.
Add a clear “Leaving Soon” label and show the date. Send an optional reminder a week before the title leaves. If the movie moves to another service owned by the same company, tell me where it went.
A watchlist is a promise between a viewer and their future couch. Please respect it.
Stop Restarting the Wrong Episode
Episode tracking also needs work. Couples watch together. Kids use the same television. A guest may press the wrong profile. Sometimes a pug steps on the remote and changes history forever.
Give us a viewing-history page that is easy to understand. Let us correct an episode with one click. “I have watched through Episode 4” is a normal instruction. It should not require opening every episode and dragging a progress bar.
When the app is not sure, ask. A small message—“Resume Episode 5 at 18:42?”—is better than confidently launching the season finale.
Make Search About Finding, Not Selling
Search results should put exact matches first. Not sponsored matches. Not a new original series that shares one actor. Not something “popular now.”
If the title is not available, say so clearly. Then suggest close alternatives. If only some seasons are included, show that before I press play.
Voice search should handle normal requests too: “Show me the comedy I watched last weekend” or “Find movies on my list that are under two hours.” Streaming companies know an amazing amount about what we watch. They can use a little of that knowledge to help us find it.
The Best Screen Is the One That Gets Out of the Way
I understand that every service wants me to discover something new. Discovery is useful. But most nights, I already know what I want.
Put Continue Watching near the top. Keep it accurate. Protect my list. Explain disappearing titles. Make history easy to fix. Return exact search results.
Then let me press Play.
I have snacks getting warm.
Snorts and one missing episode,
Pug DJ
