The INSIDER Summary:

• Netflix's new show "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is based on a book series by Lemony Snicket — a pseudonym for author Daniel Handler.
• Handler has a cameo role as a fish seller in the Netflix show.

Netflix's latest show, "A Series of Unfortunate Events," is a wry and stylized adaptation of a book series written by Daniel Handler. But Handler assumed a pseudonym when he penned "Unfortunate Events." He wrote under the name Lemony Snicket, and the narrative of the story eventually brings the fictitious Snicket into the plot.

In Netflix's adaptation of "Unfortunate Events," the narrative voice of Snicket is played onscreen by Patrick Warburton. But the real Snicket makes a small appearance, too.

In episode five, "The Wide Window: Part One," there is a scene when the Baudelaire orphans' Aunt Josephine goes shopping at an outdoor market. She passes by a fish seller boasting about his "roly poly fish heads"— and it's none other than Handler himself.

One "Unfortunate Events" fan spotted Handler right away, and tweeted at the author. Handler retweeted the photo, essentially confirming the cameo (it also appears on his IMDb page as "fish head salesperson").

Handler's role as the fish seller was reprised at the beginning of episode seven, "The Miserable Mill: Part One." The scene takes place after the Baudelaire orphans have run away right under Mr. Poe's nose, and the banker is freaking out about their disappearance — a scene that never happens in the books.

"It’s a catastrophe! It’s unprecedented! It’s off-book! It’s unfortunate!" Mr. Poe yells while frantically looking around and right into the camera. 

He then moves to the side and Handler (as the fish seller) appears beside him. 

"The Baudelaires are lost and unsupervised! Do you know what that means?" Poe asks the fish seller.

"Without supervision?" the fish seller replies.

"Good God, man, you’re right!" Poe yells back.

This exchange between Mr. Poe and the fish seller/Handler was extra clever because it included the meta reference to the Netflix series going "off-book." 

In the books, the Baudelaire children don't run away from Mr. Poe and choose to go to the "Miserable Mill" themselves. Instead, Mr. Poe selects Sir — the man in charge of the lumber mill — as their next guardian. He knows exactly where they are in the books. 

So Mr. Poe's exclamation of the events being "off-book" to the literal author of the books was a great moment and a nod to those watching at home who were carefully tracking changes made to the original series.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Warning: Spoilers ahead for "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books and Netflix show.

There are three recurring letters that careful viewers will notice in Netflix's show "A Series of Unfortunate Events": V, F, and D.

The letters have their roots in the books by Daniel Handler, which readers of the series will have recognized immediately. It first comes up in a sentence spoken by Lemony Snicket, the show's narrator and Handler's authorial alter-ego, ten minutes into the first episode.

"All that my associates and I have been able to learn is that neither the official fire department, nor the Volunteer Fire Department, arrived in time to stop the blaze," Snicket says.

And it comes up elsewhere as various characters say phrases like "Very Frightening Decisions,""Vigorously Fixed Destination,""Very Fitting Definition,""Very Fresh Dill," and "Very Fancy Door."

But what does VFD mean? Well, the Baudelaire orphans — Violet, Klaus, and Sunny — find out in the eleventh book in the series, "The Grim Grotto," shortly after leaving the Valley of Four Drafts.

It was a secret organization that included the Baudelaire's parents, Count Olaf (the villain in the series), and various other secondary characters the Baudelaires meet throughout the series.

The organization's precise mission is never made clear, but it basically involves doing good in the world. "VFD" stands for many things, but their main name is "Volunteer Fire Department," indicating that they put out fires — literal and metaphorical — of their own volition.

For most of the organization's existence, the members were required to get a tattoo of an eye on their left ankles. It's that same tattoo that the Baudelaires first notice on Count Olaf.

But what does it mean? On one level, it's just an eye. But if you look closely at the design, you'll see a set of familiar letters.

The letters V, F, and D are hidden inside them. It's the logo for the organization.

But how did someone as evil as Count Olaf come to be a part of the VFD? Well, years before the events of "A Series of Unfortunate Events," there was a schism within the organization. The good guys included people like the Baudelaire parents and Lemony Snicket. The bad guys included people like Count Olaf and Esmé Squalor.

"The difference between the two sides of the schism," Klaus explains in "The Grim Grotto" book, "is that one side puts out fires, and the other starts them."

Further confusing things is that each side of the schism continued to use the same secret codes and disguise kits.

It's part of the challenge, and fun, of the series. Sometimes the villains are obvious, and at other times the Baudelaire orphans don't know who to trust.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Crackle is now in Jerry Seinfeld's rearview mirror.

The comedian is taking popular web series, "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," to Netflix. The new deal will also include two original stand-up specials for the streaming giant.

All past episodes and 24 new episodes of "Comedians in Cars" will debut in late 2017 on Netflix. The stand-up specials are also set to debut later this year.

"Comedians" is currently in its ninth season at Crackle. It features Seinfeld joining celebrity friends for a cup of coffee and a drive in a classic car while sharing stories along the way.

“Jerry is known the world over as both a great TV innovator and beloved comic voice," said Netflix's Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos in a statement. “We are incredibly proud to welcome him to the Netflix comedy family.”

This is a huge loss for Crackle. "Comedians in Cars" is its most well-known series and a three-time Emmy winner.

Just last week, Business Insider sat down with Crackle General Manager Eric Berger  at the Television Critics Association press tour in Los Angeles. During the interview, we asked about the importance of Seinfeld to the company. He acknowledged that the comedian and his web show opened doors for it, but preferred to focus on its larger slate of shows. With Seinfeld's departure, we can now see why.

"I think 'Comedians' is a great program that did break through for us, as one of the longer-form, premium content shows on Crackle," he told Business Insider. "But it's opened the door for a slate of other great programming that we have right now."

The deal with Seinfeld is just the latest sign that Netflix is beefing up its comedy stable. It recently announced that Amy Schumer would be doing her next stand-up special for the streaming video company. She joins comedy greats Chris Rock and Dave Chappelle, who previously signed deals with Netflix.

SEE ALSO: Amy Schumer is bringing her next stand-up comedy special to Netflix

DON'T MISS: Watch the new trailer for Jerry Seinfeld's 'Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'

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Having movies available on Netflix is really bad for DVD sales, according to new academic research.

In 2016, subscription streaming video from the likes of Netflix overtook disc sales for the first time, at $6.2 billion to $5.4 billion. Netflix pays billions to license TV shows and movies, so the rise of subscription video isn't inherently a bad thing for the movie industry.

But a new academic study, pointed to by TorrentFreak, suggests that having a movie on Netflix can depress DVD sales in a major way.

To try and figure out the effect Netflix has on DVD sales, the researchers looked at a "natural experiment" that took place when Epix, a movie and TV distributor, moved its streaming catalog from Netflix to Hulu, which has a much smaller subscriber base, in 2015.

So what happened? 

“Our difference-in-difference analyses show that the decline in the streaming availability of Epix’s content leads to a 24.7% increase in their DVD sales in the three months after the event,” the paper said.

As soon as its movies got yanked off Netflix, Epix saw a big boost in DVD sales.

The researchers found that the cannibalization effect was "stronger for DVDs released more recently and for movies with better box office performances.” The takeaway here is that licensing a large back catalog of movies to Netflix might not have the same negative effect on sales as giving your marquee new releases up.

These findings might help explain why Netflix's roster of movies has languished in the past few years. 

Research in 2016 showed that Netflix's selection of IMDb's 200 highest-rated movies had gone down in the previous two years by a substantial amount, as had its total catalog of movies. Netflix might be finding that the fees demanded by savvy movie execs, to offset any dip in DVD sales, aren't worth it, especially when Netflix's content boss Ted Sarandos says people spend about 1/3 of their time watching movies no matter how good the catalog is.

Another point to note for the DVD market is that the growth of "electronic-sell-through," which is the digital equivalent to buying a DVD, seems to have stalled. ITunes, and other EST platforms, grew 5.4% in 2016, down from 18% in 2015, and 30% in 2014, according to Digital Entertainment Group (via Variety).

This suggests that the industry shouldn't look to that revenue to step into any breach in the DVD market, and that the idea of "owning" a movie might be facing its own natural pressure as people get more comfortable with the subscription model.

SEE ALSO: How Apple is taking a page out of the Netflix playbook with its Apple Music strategy

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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for future seasons of Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is a story that lives up to its name at every turn. Based on a book series by Daniel Handler (who wrote under the pen name Lemony Snicket), Netflix's new show tells the sad story of the three Baudelaire orphans — Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. 

The book series and TV adaptation are both narrated by Lemony Snicket, a man who begins each story by reminding his audience that they really should avert their eyes and choose a more enjoyable story instead. But each episode pairing also begins with a morbid dedication to a woman named Beatrice. 

Who is this mystery woman, and how does she tie into the larger story?

"Unfortunate Events" book readers already know the answer, but the show is likely saving this reveal for later seasons. So stop reading now if you don't want to be spoiled.

Each of the dedications comes at the beginning of a new story — since Netflix has split the books into two episodes each, that means we see a new note to Beatrice at the start of every other episode. 

Here are all four messages from season one:

To Beatrice —
darling, dearest,
dead.

For Beatrice —
My love for you shall
live forever.
You, however, did not.

For Beatrice —
I would much prefer it
if you were alive and well.

To Beatrice —
My love flew like a butterfly,
until death swooped down like a bat.

Beatrice is none other than Beatrice Baudelaire — the dead mother of the Baudelaire children. 

She died in a fire along with her husband, Bertrand. But before she married Bertrand (and had Violet, Klaus, and Sunny), Beatrice and Lemony Snicket were in love and almost got married themselves. 

"In my closet, I keep a 200-page book written by the woman I loved, explaining at great length and in specific detail the reason she could not marry me," Snicket said in episode seven. "Which if I were to leave out in the open, I would find myself reading over and over. It would be as if my darling Beatrice were bringing me bad news every day and every night of my life."

The exact reason (or reasons) why Beatrice rejected Snicket's proposal remains a mystery, even to book readers. But thanks to Handler's other works, especially a volume called "The Beatrice Letters," we know a bit more about their history. 

Snicket and Beatrice were childhood friends who were both enlisted in the secret society known as the V.F.D. The Baudelaire children are beginning to see glimpses of this society, though much of it remains a mystery to them. 

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is told by Snicket at an undetermined point in the future, long after Beatrice died and her children were placed into one unfortunate situation after another. 

The whole reason he feels compelled to tell this story actually has to do with another woman named Beatrice — his niece. 

At the end of the book series, the Baudelaire children wind up taking another young baby into their care. The infant is the daughter of Kit Snicket (Lemony's sister) and another character, both of whom die during the course of "Unfortunate Events," leaving the Baudelaire's in charge of her.

Violet, Sunny, and Klaus decide to name the baby after their mother — Beatrice. 

As revealed in "The Beatrice Letters," Beatrice Snicket became separated from the Baudelaires during a treacherous journey. She then grew up in the V.F.D. society and reunited with her uncle, Lemony Snicket. Beatrice Snicket begged Lemony to help her find out what happened to the Baudelaires.

Which brings us all the way back to the first story of "Unfortunate Events." Lemony Snicket introduces us to the Baudelaires by saying it is his solemn duty to tell us their story (which we now know was brought about by his niece who once knew them).

Each story is introduced with a sad dedication to the Baudelaires' dead mother, the love of Lemony Snicket's life, and the namesake of his niece — Beatrice.

So next time you see that depressing typed introduction, you will know the painful history behind each remembrance. As Lemony Snicket warned us all, this story definitely does not have a happy ending.

"A Series of Unfortunate Events" is currently streaming on Netflix.

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Amazon is battling Netflix to see who can make the best streaming TV shows, but unlike its rival, Amazon is using the 'pilot' system to determine which shows to make.

While Netflix orders full seasons of shows at a time, Amazon produces one pilot episode, and lets Amazon Prime members comment on which ones they like. Then Amazon decides which shows to order.

That doesn't mean Amazon always gets it right, however. Even beyond pilots Amazon doesn't pick up, the company seems to have a much quicker trigger finger than Netflix, and has killed a few shows after just one season. 

All told, Amazon has canceled five shows, excluding Woody Allen's "Crisis in Six Scenes," which Allen seems to have axed himself (though it did also get panned by critics).

Here are the shows Amazon has killed, along with their critic and audience ratings from Metacritic (arranged by top critic rating):

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'Hand of God': Canceled after 2 seasons

Amazon description: "A psychological drama about a morally-corrupt judge who suffers a breakdown and believes God is compelling him onto a path of vigilante justice."

Critic rating: 44/100

Audience rating: 7.2/10

'Mad Dogs': Canceled after 1 season

Amazon description: "When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild events unfold, exposing dark secrets, deception and even murder. Starring Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line), Michael Imperioli (The Sopranos), Billy Zane (Twin Peaks), Steve Zahn (Dallas Buyers Club) and Romany Malco (Weeds). Executive produced by Cris Cole and Shawn Ryan (The Shield)."

Critic rating: 64/100

Audience rating: 7.4/10

'Good Girls Revolt': Canceled after 1 season

Amazon description: "In 1969, while a cultural revolution swept through the free world, there was still one place that refused to change with the times: newsrooms. Good Girls Revolt follows a group of young female researchers at "News of the Week," who ask to be treated fairly. Their revolutionary request sparks convulsive changes and upends marriages, careers, sex lives, love lives, and friendships."

Critic rating: 65/100

Audience rating: 6.4/10

With the Sundance Film Festival kicking off on Thursday, Netflix has given us a tease of one of its anticipated movies that will be showing at the festival.

The trailer for "The Discovery" went online Wednesday and it's as trippy as the movie's synopsis.

Robert Redford plays a physicist who has confirmed the existence of an afterlife, which has led to a spate of suicides. Jason Segel plays Will, Redford's son, and Rooney Mara plays a woman with a troubled past who Will falls for.

With the use of Roy Orbison's song "Only the Lonely," visuals of chilly New England locations, and hints at layers of mystery and violence beyond the setup, the trailer paints the picture of a tender yet deeply unsettling movie.

"The Discovery" will have its world premiere at Sundance and be available on Netflix March 31.

Watch the trailer below:

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The INSIDER Summary: 

•Netflix is there for us at the end of a long day, when you're having trouble falling asleep, and when you're in need of a good laugh.
• "Scrubs,""Friends,""How I Met Your Mother," and other comedies are now on Netflix for your viewing pleasure and to brighten your day. 

Who needs real friends when there are Friends available to stream at any time, friends who are likely much funnier than your actual friends (and also come with their very own laugh track)? What's better than blowing off work and binge watching The Office all day? Why would anyone opt to watch their favorite sitcom with commercials? How did people who love TV comedies survive before Netflix?!

Between the staple of bonafide classic and new Netflix originals to dive into, streaming services like Netflix are becoming the prime destination to itch your funny bone when it comes to comedy on TV. We’ve come up with a list of the best Netflix comedies, and we’ll update the top of the list every month with newcomers to make sure your binge game is on par. 

"Scrubs"

During Scrubs run from 2001 to 2010 (first on NBC and then on ABC), there was a popular semi-tounge-in-cheek refrain from real-life doctors that the wacky medical drama was the most accurate portrayal of the profession. This may seem at odds with the pastel off-the-wall world of Dr. John “J.D.” Dorian (Zach Braff) and his many daydreams but there must be a kernel of truth to it. Scrubs is a truly hilarious, at times unapologetically slapstick comedy that also deals with the life and death nature of hospitals surprisingly maturely. Led by a cast of Braff, Donald Faison, Sarah Chalke and the incomparable John C. McGinley, it’s both a true throwback laugh-a-minute sitcom and a wonderfully adept bildungsroman for young doctors.

- Alec Bojalad

"American Dad"

If you’re looking for absurdist, aggressively weird, and hilarious television, look no further than the animated gem, American Dad. The Fox series started in the shadow of Seth MacFarlane’s Family Guy, but managed to eclipse its predecessor. Now airing on TBS, it has become one of the most consistent and creative animated programs out there during its thirteen years (and counting) in the game. No other comedy will deliver thoughtful meditations on family one week and then doing a sprawling tribute to “My Morning Jacket” or a Christmas-themed apocalypse story the next.

The series has a lot going for it, but Roger alone is worth the price of admission. He is truly one of TV’s best wild cards. American Dad has a relentless sense of humor… so much so that it invades your soul until you’re as weird as the show is. 

- Daniel Kurland

"Master of None"

Master of None attacks the millennial culture with the perfect amount of cynicism and New York vibe. Aziz Ansari and co-creator Alan Yang constructed a quasi-Seinfeld for the 21st century. Aziz’s character, Dev, is doing his best at navigating his career, family, friends and relationships against the canvas of pop-up concerts and craft beer. It’s a beautifully crafted series that doesn’t shy away from shining light on the hard truths of existing in this day and age. 

- Daniella Bondar 

Warning: Spoilers ahead for "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books and Netflix show.

The book series "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is filled with sly literary references, wordplay, and other small hints that make reading the book — despite the unfortunate subject matter — a pleasant experience.

The Netflix television show adaptation is no different.

Daniel Handler, who wrote the book series, also wrote the script for the show. He imbued it with the same mischievous, detail-filled spirit. The first season adapts the first four of the series's thirteen books about the Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) trying to escape the clutches of the evil Count Olaf. The episodes include numerous references to characters, locales, and secret organizations we won't see until much later in the series.

Throughout the series, we see a mysterious insignia that pops up often.

The same symbol is a tattoo on Count Olaf's left ankle, on a spyglass Klaus picks up from his charred home, and in many more locations.

The letters "VFD" are hidden inside it.

"'V.F.D.' stands for 'Volunteer Fire Department.' It's a secret organization that puts out fires, literal and metaphorical, throughout the world that the Baudelaire parents, and many other characters in the show, were a part of.

The organization also has standardized secret codes used throughout the series, many of which are also referred to with V.F.D.-initialed phrases, like "Valley of Four Drafts" and "Veiled Facial Disguises."

Lemony Snicket references the V.F.D. early in the premiere when the Baudelaire orphans learn of the fire that destroyed their home and killed their parents.

"All that my associates and I have been able to learn is that neither the official fire department, nor the Volunteer Fire Department, arrived in time to stop the blaze," Snicket said.

You can read more about the V.F.D. here.

Netflix beat huge on its Q4 subscriber growth numbers, both in the US and internationally, trouncing both Wall Street expectations and its own guidance.

The stock popped more than 9% on the news.

Netflix also beat on EPS and revenue, which was up 36% year-over-year.

Here are the key numbers:

• Q4 EPS (GAAP): $0.15, two cents above Wall Street forecasts of $0.13.
• Q4 revenue: $2.48 billion, roughly inline with Wall Street estimates of $2.47 billion, and up 36% year-over-year.
• Q4 US subscriber growth (net additions): 1.93 million, well above Wall Street forecasts of 1.38 million, and Netflix's own guidance of 1.45 million.
• Q4 international subscriber growth (net additions): 5.12 million, far above Wall Street forecasts of 3.78 million.
• Q1 subscriber growth guidance (domestic): 1.5 million, below Wall Street forecasts of 1.72 million.
• Q1 subscriber growth guidance (international): 3.7 million, compared to Wall Street forecasts of 3.5 million.

Netflix also signaled that profit margins would tick up in 2017, though the company warned that it intended to continue spending aggresively.

Big content spending

"We are in no rush to push margins up too quickly, as we want to ensure we are investing aggressively enough to
continue to lead internet TV around the world," the company wrote in its earnings letter. Netflix will spend a whopping $6 billion on content in 2017.

Netflix said it is targeting about 7% operating margin for 2017, up from the about 4% annual operating margin the company has had for the last two years.

With regards to content, Netflix said it will continue to invest in locally content, "focusing on local content that travels pan-regionally or across multiple territories, such as Japanese anime and Turkish dramas." It also emphasized the success of "3%," the Brazilian sci-fi series which it said "millions" of members watched subtitled in English.

The one place Netflix fell short was in Q1 guidance for domestic subscriber growth, where it missed Wall Street's expectations. Netflix said that softness in Q1 is due to a tough comparison with Q1 of last year, where it blew past US subscriber targets, exceeding its forecasts by 27%. The company also believes that some of its Q4 results pulled forward subscribers from potential adds in Q1.

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Netflix says it’ll be fine if the FCC’s current net neutrality laws are rolled back under the oncoming Trump administration, as is expected.

As part of its latest quarterly earnings report, Netflix took time to assuage any shareholder fears over its fate in a deregulated telecoms environment.

“Weakening of US net neutrality laws, should that occur, is unlikely to materially affect our domestic margins or service quality because we are now popular enough with consumers to keep our relationships with ISPs stable,” the company wrote.

Netflix might not be totally wrong: While internet service providers may be able to charge services like Netflix for access to their networks — the company did just that with Comcast prior to the 2015 introduction of the current net neutrality rules— Netflix is still a massively popular service with weight in the market. Paying an ISP for direct access to its network is something it could pull off, potentially giving it an edge over smaller (or future) streaming competitors that would be more hampered by any fees. It’d still be in some sort of driver’s seat, in other words. Any agreements would likely allow for superior streaming quality for customers on those networks as well.

That said, it would result in Netflix paying fees that don’t exist today, costs that could be dumped back into consumer subscription prices.

Beyond that, as seen with the zero-rating policies in practice today, ISPs and mobile carriers would likely exempt streaming competitors they own from their data caps, giving their services a technical leg up. AT&T allows its own DirecTV Now service to be streamed for free on its network, for instance. This discriminatory approach to data caps is something Netflix has very vocally opposed in recent years.

Continuing along those lines, Netflix further reiterated an ideological support for net neutrality in its report.

“On a public policy basis, however, strong net neutrality is important to support innovation and smaller firms,” the company said. “No one wants ISPs to decide what new and potentially disruptive services can operate over their networks, or to favor one service over another. We hope the new US administration and Congress will recognize that keeping the network neutral drives job growth and innovation.”

That may remain a “hope,” though. The FCC’s de-regulatory-minded Republicans will take a 2-1 majority in the Commission once Trump takes office on January 20, and have already signaled that the current Open Internet Order, and its classification of the internet as a public utility, will be on the chopping block. Commissioner Ajit Pai, who is expected to be named the FCC's interim chairman in the coming days, said that the current policy’s “days are numbered” in a speech last month, for one. A recent Multichannel report, meanwhile, said that Trump’s team may try to de-emphasize the FCC's regulatory powers as a whole.

SEE ALSO: It looks like we're going to have a less open internet under Donald Trump

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HBO is going to let viewers binge-watch its new shows online before they air on TV — at least that's what Netflix thinks. 

On Wednesday, Netflix posted impressive Q4 earnings, smashing its targets for subscriber growth both in the US and internationally. The company painted a rosy vision of the future of its industry.

"In short, it’s becoming an internet TV world," Netflix wrote in a letter to shareholders. "Which presents both challenges and opportunities for Netflix as we strive to earn screen time." And Netflix thinks that at least one old rival, HBO, will adapt to the digital future by making its shows available to binge early.

Netflix's head of content, Ted Sarandos, famously said in 2013 that Netflix's goal was to "become HBO faster than HBO can become us." Netflix, at the time, was pivoting toward producing its own high-quality original shows (like HBO). And Sarandos was implying that HBO would try and move toward global, digital distribution to keep up with Netflix — see initiatives like HBO's "a la carte" streaming service, HBO Now.

But even as their business models inch toward each other, one thing that has continued to separate HBO and Netflix, besides the fact that Netflix spends about 3 times as much money on content, is that HBO releases shows one episode at a time, whereas Netflix drops entire seasons at once. The release of each new "Game of Thrones" episode is an event, especially on social media.

That type of repeated buzz seems like it would be a hard thing to give up, but Netflix thinks HBO will see the light and embrace binge-watching as a business model. "The BBC has become the first major linear network to announce plans to go binge-first with new seasons, favoring internet over linear viewers," Netflix wrote in its letter. "We presume HBO is not far behind the BBC."

In the letter, Netflix links to an article from The Telegraph, which indicates that the BBC will start making full seasons available to binge before they air. "The BBC will make its major Sunday night dramas available in their entirety on iPlayer before screening them on television, under plans that would turn the catch-up service into a rival to BBC One and Two,"The Telegraph reports.

HBO, Netflix presumes, is not far behind.

This doesn't necessarily mean Netflix thinks HBO will start dropping full seasons of blockbuster shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld" any time soon. It could be that Netflix thinks specific types of shows will be available to binge on HBO's streaming services, HBO Now and HBO Go.

But even if its only certain shows, changing its release pattern would be a significant step for HBO, and a big vote of confidence for Netflix's model.

That's why you should probably take anything Netflix says on the subject with a grain of salt, as its partly a playful jab at a competitor, tinged with a dose of self-interest, and a big wink. 

SEE ALSO: Netflix crushed its subscriber growth targets, and the stock is soaring

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Netflix is trading at a record high on Thursday morning, up 6.6%, at $141.68 a share after crushing its subscriber growth targets. 

The company beat Q4 subscriber growth numbers on Wednesday, in the US and internationally, ahead of both Wall Street expectations and its own guidance.

Netflix also beat on EPS and revenue, which was up 36% year-over-year. The stock popped more than 8% on the news.

The company signaled that profit margins would tick up in 2017, but the company warned that it intended to continue spending aggressively - to the tune of a staggering $6 billion on content. 

With regards to content, Netflix said it will continue to invest in local content, "focusing on local content that travels pan-regionally or across multiple territories, such as Japanese anime and Turkish dramas." It also emphasized the success of "3%," the Brazilian sci-fi series which it said "millions" of members watched subtitled in English.

Deutsche Bank's Bryan Kraft said the increased international demand was "catalyzed by original content (e.g. Luke Cage – Sept. 30 release, The Crown, Gilmore Girls, and Fuller House)."

Netflix recently won a Golden Globe for a top show category, when its royal drama "The Crown" picked up a best drama series award and Claire Foy, who plays The Queen, won best actress. 

The one place Netflix fell short was in Q1 guidance for domestic subscriber growth, where it missed Wall Street's expectations. 

SEE ALSO: Netflix's content boss explained the reason he bet big on 'The Crown,' its Golden Globe winner

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Netflix surprised Wall Street on Wednesday when it reported fourth-quarter earnings and subscriber growth.

In the US, net additions totaled 1.93 million, much better than the consensus forecast among analysts of 1.38 million and Netflix's own prior estimates. Earnings per share were $0.15, two cents above the median forecast.

Netflix's performance drove its stock higher in after-hours trading. On Thursday, it hit an all-time high of $143.45, up by 6%, in the first few minutes of trading.

The streaming service is making a major push outside the US and investing heavily in original content that works for audiences everywhere.

"We are in no rush to push margins up too quickly, as we want to ensure we are investing aggressively enough to continue to lead internet TV around the world," the company said in its earnings letter.

Below are some analysts' reactions to the earnings results and their ratings of the stock.

Jefferies: BEARISH

Rating: Underperform

Price target: $95 (from $80)

Comment: "While the international subscriber growth will drive the stock higher, we note cash burn remains above expectations, with fixed cost leverage elusive," said John Janedis.

Credit Suisse: NEUTRAL

Rating: Neutral

Price target: $143

Comment: "For the longer term, Netflix will be looking to show a greater balance between growth and profitability — which to us validates the long-term investment thesis for its international and newer cohorts to follow along the margin expansion trajectory of the US," said Stephen Ju and Christopher Ford.

Macquarie: NEUTRAL

Rating: Neutral

Price target: $130

Comment: "We remain cautious on some items we have discussed at length in previous notes, namely rising content and other costs, and concurrent FCF [free cash flow] burn in the face of rising competition, but subs are what drives this stock and for now the sub additions are covering these," said Tim Nollen. "As such, we are upgrading the stock from underperform to neutral."

This post includes minor spoilers for 'A Series of Unfortunate Events.'

Like all screen adaptations, Netflix's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" takes some liberties with the book series.

Fortunately, though, each of the first season's eight episodes were written by Daniel Handler, the author of the books, himself. So they're all at least a part of the original author's vision.

Many of the changes make sense to keep the plot moving, or to make the show easier to understand. And in many cases, they're a great opportunity to revisit what was so special about the books in the first place.

Here are six major changes between the books and Netflix version of "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

Lemony Snicket's character is way more involved.

Lemony Snicket is the series's narrator and pen name for Daniel Handler. He's also a minor character in the books and a member of V.F.D.

And while he's a prominent authorial voice in the books, his character is way more prominent in the Netflix series. He steps in onscreen every few scenes to explain to the audience what's happening, and to fill in more details and context the Baudelaires might not yet know.

His prominence onscreen raises questions that were largely unaddressed in Handler's books. What, exactly, is his involvement with the Baudelaires? Where is he, and when is he speaking from? Will we see him interact with anyone later in the series, or will he remain as just a narrator?

You won't read about the spyglass in the books.

The weird metal V.F.D.-monogrammed spyglass Klaus picks up is a totally new invention in the television show. It helps decode messages written in Sebald Code, a secret code developed by V.F.D. members to communicate with each other. But in the books, the characters just decode messages manually.

The inventor of Sebald Code, Gustav Sebald, is mentioned only in passing in the novels.

In the show, though, he's a fully-fledged character.

Gustav is mentioned as Montgomery Montgomery's herpetological assistant in "The Reptile Room," who Count Olaf drowned in The Swarthy Swamp so he could be replaced by Olaf himself, under the guise of "Stephano" (in the show, Gustav drowns in a "reflecting pond.")

He is also a filmmaker, directing "Zombies in the Snow," which the children, Uncle Monty, and Count Olaf watch in "The Reptile Room." In addition, he invented Sebald Code.

In the TV show, he and Jacqueline, another character who isn't in the books, are both V.F.D. members who try to help out the Baudelaire orphans without bringing attention to themselves. 

It was a big beat for Netflix on Wednesday, as the streaming giant reported higher-than-expected numbers for its fourth quarter earnings.

As this chart from Statista shows, the results are the cap on what’s been a strong year for Netflix as a whole. The company closes the 2016 fiscal year with 93.8 million subscribers, up nearly 20 million from the year prior, and a long way from the days from when it mostly sold DVDs. The lion’s share of that growth appears to be a result of Netflix’s expansion outside the US, where 47% of its subscribers now reside.

Investors may still be concerned with slowing subscriber growth back in the US, and the fact that it’s still spending a truckload to produce its original shows, but at this point you can see why Netflix isn’t that worried about things like net neutrality changes.

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Netflix crushed its Q4 earnings on Wednesday, sending its stock soaring, but there's one thing Wall Street is still worried about: how much cash the company is burning.

Netflix is set to have a negative free cash flow of $2 billion in 2017, versus $1.7 billion in 2016.

The reason, according to Netflix, is that actually making shows yourself costs a lot of money up front.

Netflix is confident it will make that money back over the long run, but it does provide "some lumpiness in [Netflix's] working capital needs," according to its Q4 letter to shareholders.

For a fuller explanation, however, it's good to go back to Netflix's Q3 letter to shareholders, where the company lays out the case for the continued escalation of its cash burn.

Here's what Netflix said in its Q3 letter:

The increase in our free cash flow deficit reflects the growth of original content, which we are increasingly producing and owning (rather than licensing). Self-produced shows like Stranger Things require more cash upfront as we incur spending during the creation of each show prior to its completion and release. In comparison, we generally pay on delivery for licensed originals like Orange is the New Black and we pay over the term of the agreement for licensed non-originals (eg, Scandal).

Over the long run, we believe self-producing is less expensive (including cost of capital) than licensing a series or film, as we work directly with the creative community and eliminate additional overhead and fees. In addition, we own the underlying intellectual property, providing us with global rights and more business and creative control. Combined with the success of our portfolio of originals and the positive impact on our member and revenue growth, we believe this is a wise investment that creates long term value. Consequently, we plan on investing more, which will continue to weigh on free cash flow.

Instinet Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente called the cash burn his "lone concern" about Netflix's business, in a note distributed Thursday. However, he also wrote that Netflix's "long-term margin expansion trajectory is better than we’d thought," and remained bullish long-term.

That said, don't expect Netflix's cash burn to go away any time soon, according to Macquarie's Tim Nollen, who wrote that Netflix's 2017 deficit "may not be the worst of it."

"Netflix intends to expand to over 1,000 hours of original content this year and most likely more again next," Nollen wrote in a note distributed Thursday. "But again," he continued, "content investment drives the [subscriber] growth, and for now this is what matters most."

In October, Netflix announced it was raising another $800 million in debt, bringing its total long-term debt to over $3 billion.

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The INSIDER Summary:

• The next season of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' hasn't been greenlit yet.
• If it gets made, it will be ten episodes covering five books.
• The Baudelaires will spend the first couple of episodes at a miserable boarding school.

Netflix's adaptation of 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' was released in January to widespread critical acclaim and appreciation for the series' fanbase. The first season is based on the first four installments of Daniel Handler's book series of the same name.

Netflix hasn't given the go-ahead on the second season yet, so there's a chance it might not happen. We also won't know about any potential release dates until after it gets the green light.

Regardless, Handler has already begun writing a second season, and director Barry Sonnenfeld and Neil Patrick Harris are on board. So if the show does continue, we know there are a few things we can expect.

We'll get ten episodes instead of eight.

Structure-wise, 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' includes 13 books, from "The Bad Beginning" to "The End."

Handler also wrote several companion books, including "The Beatrice Letters,""Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography," and "The Dismal Dinner." He also wrote a four-book prequel series "All the Wrong Questions," about the teen years of Lemony Snicket, his authorial alter-ego and the narrator of the series.

The first season of the Netflix adaptation covered the first four books with two episodes each, totaling in eight episodes.

Handler, who is writing the scripts for the series, told Entertainment Weekly that the second season will cover more ground.

"The second season is laid out to be 10 episodes for the next five books, so it ends on 'The Carnivorous Carnival,' and the third season would be the rest of it."

If Handler continues to adapt each book into two episodes, the third season will be eight episodes long. But the last few books are a bit longer than the others, so he might end up with a different adaptation structure.

The plot continues with "The Austere Academy."

In the next book, "The Austere Academy," the Baudelaires befriend the Quagmire children at a boarding school, Prufrock Preparatory School. Their parents were also members of V.F.D., and were killed under similar circumstances.

They'll be under the thumb of Vice Principal Nero. He's like Mrs. Trunchbull from "Matilda," except less physically imposing and far more incompetent at playing the violin. (No one seems to know who the principal of the school is, or if it even has one.) We get a quick look at him at the end of the first season.

We also might learn about Beatrice, the mysterious name that keeps popping up in different episodes, and what she has to do with Lemony Snicket, whose role is a little different than what it is in Handler's book series.

The first season also includes a bunch of Easter eggs and clues to events in the books that we can expect to see in the next season. However, Handler has been making some changes to the plot. So while we don't know exactly how the story will be moving forward, we do know it will be unfortunate.

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People have been speculating about Apple acquiring Netflix since the dawn of time. While there are some valid strategic rationales for doing so, the financial justification for such a deal would be untenable largely because of Netflix's lofty valuation.

Consider the fact that Netflix's current enterprise value is around $60 billion, even before factoring in some sort of acquisition premium. That's already about 20 times as large as Apple's biggest acquisition to date, the $3 billion purchase of Beats in 2014. The size of the Beats deal was itself unprecedented, about six times as large as any Apple acquisition before it. A Netflix acquisition also would be extremely dilutive to margins (Netflix's net margin is about one-tenth of Apple's).

Beyond all of that, there are signs that Apple is looking to dabble in original video content. While the company has explicitly stated that it has no intention of competing directly with video streaming services, instead clarifying that any original video content would serve as a differentiator for Apple Music, Apple's growing interest in video will only spark even more speculation about a possible Netflix acquisition going forward. Meanwhile, CEO Tim Cook has said that price will no longer be a limiting factor for potential acquisitions. Here's Cook just a few months ago on the November earnings call:

We are open to acquisitions of any size that are of strategic value where we can deliver better products to our customers and innovate more. And so we look at a whole variety of companies, and based on that, we choose whether to move forward or not. But we're definitely open and we definitely look.

So yeah, I'd expect the speculation over a Netflix acquisition to only intensify from here. Here's why that terrifies me.

An unflattering comparison

To be clear, I'm a shareholder of both companies, and as such my Netflix position would benefit quite nicely if Apple were to scoop up the dominant video streamer at a hefty premium. Yet if that ever came to fruition, I'd be scared of what that says about Apple.

If Apple were to acquire Netflix, it would be an incontrovertible admission on Apple's part that it's running out of ideas for its core business, and the expansion via acquisition into online video streaming services would not only be ridiculously expensive but also desperate. We've seen this play out before. When growth companies start to mature, organic growth becomes more elusive and management teams sometimes turn to blockbuster acquisitions as a way to get investors excited again, buying growth in new markets instead of creating it organically.

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LOS ANGELES, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Traditional TV networks are following Netflix Inc's lead by releasing all new episodes of a series at the same time, a step to win over binge viewers who do not want to wait a week for the next installment.

The move poses a direct challenge to Netflix and a way for more traditional networks to reach for younger, digital-savvy consumers who insist on watching on their own schedules.

Walt Disney Co network Freeform, which targets a younger audience, put the entire 10-episode season of new sci-fi drama "Beyond" on digital and on-demand platforms on Jan. 2, a first for the channel. By Jan. 10, it was ready to order a second season.

"There are moments when it's really hard to make a decision about a pickup," Freeform President Tom Ascheim said, announcing the renewal at a Television Critics Association event. "This is not one of those moments."

Roughly 14 million people watched "Beyond" on TV and online during the first week. About 745,000 have finished the season on various platforms, the network said.

In its earnings report this week, Netflix highlighted growing competition from rivals that are adopting the strategy. Britain's BBC, for example, announced earlier this month it would distribute full seasons of major series on its digital platform before the episodes run on traditional linear television.

"We presume HBO is not far behind the BBC," Netflix added. A spokesman for HBO, owned by Time Warner Inc, had no comment.

"In short, it's becoming an internet TV world, which presents both challenges and opportunities for Netflix as we strive to earn screen time," Netflix said.

Netflix popularized binge viewing with the 2013 release of the entire season of "House of Cards." The company's monthly subscription service reached 94 million customers at the end of 2016, it said on Wednesday.

Comcast Corp's NBC became the first U.S. broadcast network to try the release-at-once idea in 2015 when it put 13 episodes of drama "Aquarius" online right after the premiere aired on TV.

NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt said shortly after the experiment that he would consider it again for the occasional show but it would not become standard practice.

The tactic is not popular with affiliate stations, Greenblatt said at the time.

But advertisers see some advantages to the release of entire seasons in one batch, said Andy Donchin, chief investment officer at Dentsu Aegis Network.

"If people want to binge view like that and they seek it out, they are probably highly engaged viewers," Donchin said. "If you're engaged in the program, hopefully you'll be just as engaged with the commercials."

Still there are tradeoffs, Wible said. When people are watching bingeable shows at their own pace, the shows miss out on the conversations that happen when a big plot development is watched by everyone at the same time, such as the famous "Red Wedding" episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones."

"You do lose out on the buzz," Wible said. "I think it takes longer to gain momentum."

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Tim Baysinger in New York; Editing by Peter Henderson and Lisa Shumaker)

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