Braqueurs / The Crew – Picture: Netflix
The French movie The Crew (Braqueurs as it’s referred to in France) is set to leave Netflix after being on the service globally for 3 years. The significance of the removal is that the title is marketed on the service as a Netflix Original movie and is tied to the recently released Ganglands series.
Released in 2015, the movie directed by Julien Leclercq (who also wrote the movie alongside Simon Moutairou) is an action crime drama which is about a group of robbers who make their living scoring heists. Their lives are upended after their crime boss recruits them into a heist which is their biggest challenge yet.
The movie was first added to Netflix on November 15th, 2018.
The movie is currently scheduled to leave Netflix globally on November 15th, 2021. A removal notice is currently showing on the title alerting that your last day to watch the feature film is on November 14th. That means Netflix bought the title with a 3-year license.
It’s worth noting that The Crew could possibly be renewed and this is temporary however that seems unlikely.
As we mentioned the movie was later adapted into a series that features some of the characters from the movie. Julien Leclercq returned to direct and write. The series launched in late September 2021 and at the time of publishing, had not been renewed for a second season.
The movie also features in the newly created “Ganglands collection”.
Ganglands collection on Netflix
So why is The Crew leaving Netflix? Especially given there’s still plenty of value for anyone who’s invested in Ganglands to watch.
The answer comes down to ownership and Netflix’s role in distribution for this specific title. As we’ve covered before, there are multiple types of Netflix Original and in this instance, Netflix is simply the exclusive international distributor of the movie.
This means that Netflix only licenses the movie, albeit it with Original branding for a fixed period of time and that period of time is now up.
It’s not the first Netflix Original to leave as we’ve cataloged, many titles are leaving the service that have had Original branding and in many instances, do not find new streaming homes after departing.
We should also note that the title does have a naming conflict too. The Kevin James-led sitcom (which was canceled after a single season) was also named The Crew. Of course, the series got over this by being called Ganglands outside of France.
Will you miss The Crew once it leaves Netflix in November 2021? Let us know in the comments.