Netflix was once the end-all-be-all for students’ television-watching needs, but lately a few holes have been popping up in the streaming service’s record. Known to students for fan favorites such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Friends” and “Stranger Things,” the service has been removing shows and movies that have been essential to the company’s success.

Netflix has saved many fan favorite TV shows and movies from being forgotten after they stopped being aired, until now. Recently there has been a new trend with Netflix; the removal of  popular past shows. The most recent and heartbreaking were “One Tree Hill,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Prison Break” on Oct. 1. “How I Met Your Mother” was removed on Nov. 13, and all versions of the “American Horror Story” series have been slowly removed  in stages from Oct. 3. — Dec. 6.

These sudden changes left users, who were waiting forever, wondering how the series ends, unless they decide to purchase the series themselves. Students who have not realized that the streaming service will be taking shows down have been met with a rude awakening.

The student reaction has been less than positive. Many students have voiced anger at the sudden changes.

“I don’t understand why Netflix would put their customers through that pain,” junior Hayley Scheer said. “‘One Tree Hill’ was my favorite show and I personally feel victimized that they took it off.”

In a recent poll of 100 students with memberships to Netflix, 44 percent said they were most affected by the departure of “One Tree Hill,” and 27 percent said they were more affected by losing access to the “American Horror Story” series.

Students are infuriated about these recent cancellations and 33 percent said they would consider switching to another streaming service because of it. The question of whether or not these shows are available on other streaming networks may impact Netflix’s popularity. If these series can be viewed on another service, why would students not switch their attention? All of these programs are available for purchase on iTunes, but purchasing multiple seasons can be costly.

In light the recente alterations, Hulu has become a large competitor offering similar programs to those of Netflix. Netflix did have the edge as it was ad-free, something Hulu is not, but the recent changes to Netflix’s show selection may drive fans away.

Three of the shows recently stripped from Netflix are available on Hulu. “How I Met Your Mother,” “Prison Break” and “American Horror Story” can be viewed on Hulu with a $7.99 monthly subscription.

The streaming service showdown between Netflix, Hulu and Amazon has exploded. As of July 2017, subscribers to Netflix skyrocketed to 109 million worldwide. Hulu, only available to the U.S., holds 32 million subscribers, and Amazon is currently behind  Netflix with approximately 85 million subscribers.

Hulu is at a disadvantage only being available in the United States, whereas Netflix is available in most countries except for China, Crimea, North Korea and Syria. With the recent series removals, Hulu’s subscription rate  is likely to rise since the shows they offer are more exclusive.

“I personally love ‘One Tree Hill’ and I think Netflix should keep it on,” sophomore Tara Smith said. “People subscribe to Netflix to watch shows like ‘One Tree Hill’ and ‘How I Met Your Mother’, so taking them off is just going to hurt Netflix in the long run.”

Despite the negative feedback Netflix has received from their recent decisions, there are many highpoints to it.

The company is certainly not lacking a plethora of content for its viewers. Although it has been removing popular shows, it has 126 original shows and movies available for subscribers. Among these original programs are fan favorites “Daredevil,” “House of Cards” and “13 Reasons Why.”

Although some shows have left, there are still plenty left to enjoy on the website.