9 Worst Times TV Shows Went Meta
6. Count Olaf Knows He's On Netflix
Although the tone of the Lemony Snicket books has always been arch (its self-reflexive title ought to be a giveaway), the first season of the Netflix adaptation tended to overdo its clever-cleverness.
Hyper-aware of its existence on an on-demand video site, there is an abundance of jokes alluding to the internet giant. Snicket tells us at the start "to turn away immediately and watch something more pleasant instead"' and namedrops the title on occasion; Mr Poe complains that things are getting "off-book". When this stream (get it?!) becomes a flood, things begin to get tiresome.
Possibly the most obnoxious moment arrives in the second episode when a disguised Olaf stares at the screen and intones: “I prefer long-form television to the movies. It’s so much more convenient to consume entertainment from the comfort of your own home.” Then he grins for an uncomfortably long time, just in case viewers didn’t get it. They did.