Hey, mom and dad: Let the New Year’s ball drop whenever you want.
That’s the message from Netflix, which is back for a sixth year of New Year’s Eve countdowns — designed to help parents ring in 2019 with their kids, while still getting the tykes into bed well before midnight.
The streamer launched 14 on-demand countdowns, each about 1-2 minutes long, on Dec. 26. They’re all based on Netflix’s original kids and family shows, so the countdowns aren’t just for fun: They serve as a vehicle for Netflix to promote its own programming.
This year’s batch of New Year’s Eve countdowns from Netflix feature characters from four DreamWorks Animation series — “The Boss Baby: Back in Business,” “All Hail King Julien,” “Tales of Arcadia” and “Spirit Riding Free” — as well as “Fuller House,” “Beat Bugs,” “Pinky Malinky,” “Super Monsters,” “Motown Magic,” “True and the Rainbow Kingdom,” “Larva Island,” “Skylanders Academy,” “Prince of Peoria,” and “Alexa & Katie.”
“Tonight, we’re going to party like it’s four hours past our bedtime!” the Boss Baby exults in his countdown clip, with his hardest-partying move fastening a tie around his head.
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Netflix claims the New Year’s Eve specials are popular: Since launching its first countdown with King Julien in 2014, an average of 5 million members annually have chosen to tune in to the countdowns, according to the company.
The company realized several years ago that Dec. 31 represents a prime opportunity to cater to home-bound families. Around 77% of U.S. parents with children aged 3-13 say they prefer to stay at home than go out on New Year’s Eve, according to a Netflix-commissioned survey conducted by Ipsos in November 2018. Roughly half (52%) of parents say they let their kids actually stay up until midnight.
Meanwhile, on Dec. 31, Netflix will premiere Taylor Swift’s “Reputation” stadium concert tour film, which also stands to garner a co-viewing kid/parent audience on New Year’s Eve.
Watch Netflix’s sizzle reel of the New Year’s Eve countdown content: