When I first heard that my absolute favorite show, How I Met Your Mother, was leaving Netflix, I was more than disappointed. Many people I have talked to have agreed that this is a tragedy, but no big deal, right? After all, it is only one show. Well, not exactly. As I continued to look into it, I found more and more shows that were leaving. So I asked the question, why are so many of my favorite shows leaving Netflix?

First I assumed that I was just unlucky. Shows are always leaving Netflix, maybe it just happened to be all of the ones I loved. However, The more I looked into the lists and lists of shows that would be taken off Netflix soon it seemed unlikely.

I found out that every Netflix TV show and movie is given a certain amount of time to be on Netflix. When that time is up, the show or movie can either be renewed or taken off. Shows get taken off for many reasons, including popularity, rights to renew the licensing, and the availability of similar shows.

How I Met Your Mother was not, of course, my only favorite show that has or is going to be leaving Netflix. Here’s a list of some other popular shows or movies that are either going to be leaving, or just recently left:

-Hannah Montana: The Movie

-Goosebumps

-The Matrix

-It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

– One Tree Hill

-Family Guy (seasons 9-14)

-Twilight

-Jessie

-Hugo

-Many, many more

The heartbreaking, “This show is available until…” might show up on one of your favorites, so here are a few coping mechanisms that have helped a bit in dealing with this tragedy.

1)Rewatch

Before it can be ripped away from you, rewatch your favorite moments that you may not be able to see again. Once the show or movie is taken off, it will still be fresh. You also won’t regret not taking advantage of having the show right at your fingertips, because you just did.

2) Find Something Else to Binge Watch

I turned to Parks and Rec, which helped distracts from my distress. A long show, preferably in the same genre of the one leaving, will remind you that there are other shows out there. For example, if you are upset about Hannah Montana:The Movie (and let’s be honest-who isn’t upset about it), I would suggest another childhood classic, such as High School Musical.

3) Move On

Yes, it may sound hard, but moving on is the only way to truly get over this hole in your life. Try to erase it from your mind, however hard that may be. Distract yourself or talk about it, find what will help you get over this tragedy

To quote J.K Rowling, “To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” She might have been referring to something a bit deeper than Netflix, but it still applies. The “death” of this show will only lead to many more shows to come. I wish you all the best of luck with the recovery, and I hope this did not break too many hearts.