This was all partly in service of harpooning one particularly tantalising white whale: the first Best Picture Oscar for a film released by a streaming service. And in 2019, with Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, they came agonisingly close. Roma was a perfect example of a Netflix prestige project: it was complex, artful and personal, something you seek out on the right night rather than idly menu-scroll your way into, and had been turned down by the established studios. 

Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and David Fincher’s Mank, nominated for Best Picture in 2020 and 2021 respectively, also fit the template. And with Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, it felt as if the streamer was finally about to skewer its Moby Dick.

No such luck. That honour went to Apple TV and CODA, while Netflix managed to convert only one of its 27 nominations into a win: Best Director for Campion. And however critically acclaimed, heatedly discussed and affectionately memed the film may have been, once you’ve spent a reported $50 million on a promotional campaign only to walk away with the one prize everyone agreed you couldn’t conceivably lose, there comes a point at which the exercise becomes more trouble and expense than it’s worth.