(Credits: Sony Pictures)

Netflix is back to break hearts again. Every time someone opens the app, it feels like a toxic ex who is charming one week and vanishing the next. And this week’s list of departures? Pure cruelty. The kind that makes you question why you ever trusted the “My List” button in the first place.

Starting strong on October 20th, Anyone But You (2023) is saying goodbye. For everyone who kept saving it for a “right time”, that time is now. No more Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell fake-hating each other in sun-soaked Australia while obviously being obsessed. It is a rom-com fever dream that is about to evaporate.

Alongside it goes Freud’s Last Session (2023), the quiet, brainy film that somehow makes a debate between Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis feel more intense than an action movie. And if that were not enough heartbreak, Shadow season one is leaving too. It is the slick South African vigilante drama that never got the recognition it deserved. Three solid titles gone in a single day. Netflix really said, “Let’s clean house.”

Then, on October 21st, things get even messier. Nairobi Half Life (2012), the gritty Kenyan story about chasing dreams through danger and disappointment, is out. It is one of those films that sticks to the ribs, and Netflix has decided to say goodbye. Following right behind is Valley of a Thousand Hills (2022), a South African drama about love, tradition, and bravery that deserved far more global attention. Oh, and Shadow (2022) is also on the chopping block. Two Shadows gone within 24 hours as if Netflix wanted to erase the word entirely.

October 22nd brings a small but painful loss: Güeros (2014). A Mexican black-and-white indie that mixes road trip fun with poetic introspection, it feels like a dream that fades the moment it ends. The kind of film that quietly rearranges something in the brain, and now it is slipping away.

October 24th, however, is ruthless. Empire Records (1995), the ultimate ‘90s comfort watch, is leaving. The record store setting, the flannel shirts, the eyeliner, the teen angst set to rock music, you name it: all of it, gone. The cult favourite that defined a generation’s rebellion will soon be streaming nowhere.

The same day comedian Pete Holmes’s I Am Not for Everyone (2023) is also leaving, which is unintentionally hilarious given the title. And The Family Business (Seasons 1–4) exits too, taking with it all the drama, money, and mayhem of the Duncan family’s double life.

Finally, October 25th finishes the heartbreak tour. Blade of the 47 Ronin (2022) is leaving, so it’s time to say goodbye to the sword fights and supernatural warriors. Also Miller’s Girl (2023) leaves too, with all its uncomfortable tension and stylish storytelling. Both had flaws, sure, but at least they were interesting.

So, consider this the warning label before Netflix ghosts another batch of perfectly good films. Watch them now, before they vanish into that mysterious corner where forgotten titles go.

Every movie and series leaving Netflix this week:

Movies

October 20th

• Anyone But You (2023)
• Freud’s Last Session (2023)

October 21st

• Nairobi Half Life (2012)
• The Valley of a Thousand Hills (2022)
• Shadow (2022)

October 22nd

• Güeros (2014)

October 24th

• Empire Records (1995)
• Pete Holmes: I Am Not for Everyone (2023)
• Blade of the 47 Ronin (2022)
• Miller’s Girl (2023)

Series

October 20th

• Shadow (Season 1)

October 24th

• The Family Business (Seasons 1–4)