(Credits: Roadside Attractions / Universal Pictures)

Netflix has begun its December disappearing act, and it feels like someone is lifting titles from a bookshelf while you are still reading them. Titles are slipping out the door one by one, and Netflix is looking everywhere except at us while doing it. Honestly, if you felt a chill on December 1st, it is because E.T., Clueless, Back to the Future Part II, and literally half the films you grew up with left the building together like a well-organised heartbreak heist.

The biggest blow? The Austin Powers trilogy is leaving in one single sweep. All three: gone. Vanished. No warning, no mercy. If you were planning a rewatch for New Year’s, congratulations, you waited too long. And while you recover from that shock, Netflix also tossed out Beverly Hills Cop, Billy Madison, The Goonies, and Coming to America. It is like they opened the vault of every feel-good movie from your childhood and decided to take EVERYTHING.

Then comes Edge of Tomorrow… yes, Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt’s time-loop masterpiece walking off the platform like it did not redefine sci-fi ten years ago. Someone please inform Netflix that we need more time-loop films, not less. Inglourious Basterds is also packing its bags, meaning Tarantino fans have officially entered their villain origin arc. And if you were craving a warm rewatch of Paddington, Netflix decided to take it away from you like your favourite Beanie Baby was once taken.

But nothing, and we mean nothing, compares to Netflix removing E.T. in December. Removing E.T. during the holiday season should be illegal. Who approved this? Netflix, we want names.

Even the comedy section took a punch. Game Night, The Happytime Murders, Hot Shots! and Hot Shots: Part Deux: all gone in the same purge. And for those who love a good action fix, The Equalizer, The Legend of Zorro, and Midway have also disappeared.

But the massacre does not stop at movies. Series are leaving, too, and Netflix did not even pretend to be gentle about it. Animal Kingdom (Seasons 1–5) is walking into the sunset like it finally got a clean criminal record. Fierce is leaving before most people realise it has arrived. And yes, brace yourself, How I Met Your Mother is gone on December 3rd. If you had plans to rewatch it during the holidays, the universe said no. Ted Mosby’s monologues? Unavailable. Robin’s detachment? Vanished. Barney’s suits? Off the grid.

Even the niche community is suffering. Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman, that charming dessert-obsessed fever dream, is out. The Coyotes, Escalona, and half of Top Chef’s seasons are gone, too. And to top it all off, Netflix is also removing the stand-up special Fat Rascal and College Hill: Celebrity Edition. The variety is wild.

The latter part of the week brings final heartbreaks: Emily the Criminal (a genuinely underrated gem) and Gods of Egypt leave on December 7th. And before that, Compliance, the psychological drama people watch once and never emotionally recover from, checks out from Hotel Netflix on the 5th.

So yes, Netflix is decluttering. And yes, it hurts. But at least we all get to bond over mutual suffering. If you need comfort this week, hug your watchlist tightly. It has been through a lot.

Every movie and series leaving Netflix this week

Movies

December 1st

• After the Sunset (2004)
• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002)
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
• Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989)
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
• Beverly Hills Cop II (1987)
• Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
• Billy Madison (1995)
• Christmas with the Kranks (2004)
• Clueless (1995)
• Cold Pursuit (2019)
• Coming to America (1988)
• Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (2012)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
• Escape Room (2019)
• Farha (2021)
• Game Night (2018)
• Good Advice (2001)
• Hot Shots! (1991)
• Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
• Hudson Hawk (1991)
• Inglourious Basterds (2009)
• Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012)
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
• Kicking and Screaming (2005)
• Long Shot (2019)
• Midnight Run (1988)
• Midway (2019)
• Paddington (2014)
• Radical Wolfe (2023)
• Renegades (2017)
• Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)
• The Dark Tower (2017)
• The Devil’s Own (1997)
• The Equalizer (2014)
• The Goonies (1985)
• The Happytime Murders (2018)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005)
• The Night Before (2015)
• The Nutty Professor (1996)
• The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
• The Rookie (1990)
• Think Like a Man Too (2014)
• Wonka (2023)

December 2nd

• Check The Store Next Door: The Next Chapter (2020)
• Veve (2014)
• Wolf (2018)

December 4th

• Dreams Drawn by Dust (2022)

December 5th

• Compliance (2012)

December 7th

• Emily the Criminal (2022)
• Gods of Egypt (2016)

Series

December 1st

• Animal Kingdom (Seasons 1–5)
• Fierce (Season 1)
• College Hill: Celebrity Edition (2022)
• Real Husbands of Hollywood: More Kevin, More Problems (2022)

December 2nd

• Escalona (Season 1)
• Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman (2017)
• The Coyotes (Limited Series)

December 3rd

• How I Met Your Mother (Seasons 1–9)

December 5th

• Stavros Halkias: Fat Rascal (2023)
• Top Chef (Multiple Seasons)