Why does Netflix make intentionally mediocre shows like The Good Cop?

The Hollywood Reporter

Netflix started creating original shows in 2013 using HBO's "it's not TV" model. But Netflix keeps making shows like The Good Cop and Fuller House -- series that are more suited to broadcast television from 1989. "I'm talking about when Netflix makes TV series that are essentially middle-of-the-road broadcast television shows. Also known as boring, predictable, easily digested retreads," says Tim Goodman. Why would Netflix make shows that reminded viewers of network television from decades ago? Goodman realized Netflix is "no longer an alternative to traditional television; it's a monolith that lured so many people around the globe away from traditional television that it eventually became so cavernous inside as to become a streaming 'broadcast' network itself — and the algorithm correctly figured out that a certain percentage of people inside who had cut ties to the old world would eventually miss it so much they'd need shows reflective of that lost, former world. It's why they got Fuller House. It's why they got The Ranch. It's why they got One Day at a Time (which is good, don't get me wrong, but it's a network show that's been revamped and remains a network show), etc., etc., etc. And it's the only explanation for The Good Cop, which is so on-the-nose in its retro comfort that it's actually insidious, like heroin made of nostalgia. It has Tony Danza and Josh Groban as father and son detectives, people."

ALSO:

• The Good Cop is like the anti-Brooklyn Nine-Nine with its refusal to engage in the issues of the day
• The Good Cop is engaging without being too mentally taxing -- and Josh Groban is delightful in his role
• It’s light, sometimes fun, casually watchable and totally forgettable
• Monk creator Andy Breckman was essentially allowed to re-create his old show as The Good Cop, but it's stuck in 2009