Remember when switching to Netflix’s cheaper ad-supported plan meant giving up hundreds of your favorite shows? That problem has quietly all but disappeared.
As of July 2026, only 38 titles — a mere 0.46% of Netflix’s massive 8,306-title US library — remain locked out of the ad tier. That’s down from 326 titles when the plan launched back in November 2022. Big licensing deals with Sony Pictures and DreamWorks Animation Television did most of the heavy lifting this year.
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What’s Netflix has Still Blocked?
The holdouts fall into three buckets: Netflix Originals, licensed movies, and licensed series. Here’s a shortlist of the titles fans ask about most.
| Title | Type | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| House of Cards | Netflix Original, Seasons 1–6 | The political drama that helped put Netflix originals on the map; still the ad tier’s most notable holdout |
| 3Below: Tales of Arcadia | Netflix Original, Seasons 1–2 | Guillermo del Toro’s animated fantasy series, part of the wider Tales of Arcadia universe |
| Wizards: Tales of Arcadia | Netflix Original, Season 1 | The trilogy-closing chapter of the Arcadia saga, still withheld from ad-tier viewers |
| El Marginal | Netflix Original, Seasons 1–4 | Argentina’s gritty prison drama, a long-running international hit |
| Boyhood | Licensed Movie (2014) | Richard Linklater’s decade-spanning coming-of-age film, shot over 12 real years |
| Frances Ha | Licensed Movie (2012) | Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig’s beloved indie dramedy |
| Wind River | Licensed Movie (2017) | The Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen crime thriller set on a Wyoming reservation |
| Lion | Licensed Movie (2016) | Dev Patel’s Oscar-nominated true story of a lost child’s journey home |
A Quick Look at the Bigger Picture
The list breaks down into three categories: seven remaining Netflix Originals, twenty-seven licensed movies, and a handful of licensed series tied to Universal Television and select AMC titles. Compare that to February 2024, when 175 titles were still unavailable — the ad tier has come a long way in under two and a half years.
Netflix Originals still blocked include House of Cards, both Tales of Arcadia spin-offs, El Marginal, Diary of a Gigolo, Spy Kids: Mission Critical, and the true-crime mini-series High: Confessions of an Ibiza Drug Mule. Peaky Blinders, once a fixture on this list, was unlocked in 2025.
Licensed movies make up the bulk of the remaining titles — a mix of festival darlings (Benedetta, Blue Is the Warmest Color), true-crime dramas (Time: The Kalief Browder Story), and mid-budget genre films (Deadstream, The Wretched, Prevenge). Most of these were never Sony Pictures titles, which is why April 2026’s Sony-Netflix deal didn’t free them.
Licensed series left behind are fewer in number — just Sanctuary: A Witch’s Tale, Time: The Kalief Browder Story, and You Cannot Hide — largely due to studio-specific ad restrictions from Universal Television and AMC.
If you’re weighing whether to switch down to the ad-supported plan, our breakdown of Netflix’s 2026 subscription tiers covers pricing and features side by side. And if you want the full story on how Netflix unlocked hundreds of Sony titles for ad-tier viewers earlier this year, check out our coverage of the Sony Pictures ad-tier deal.
Conclusion
Unless you’re specifically chasing House of Cards, Boyhood, or a handful of niche licensed titles, Netflix’s ad-supported plan now delivers almost the entire library. At 0.46% blocked, the gap between tiers has practically closed.
FAQs
Q: How many titles are blocked on Netflix’s ad tier as of July 2026?
A: Just 38 titles, or about 0.46% of the platform’s 8,306-title US library.
Q: Why is House of Cards still unavailable on the ad tier?
A: It’s a Netflix Original held back by licensing restrictions that haven’t yet been renegotiated for ad-supported streaming.
