- Netflix will make The Trial of the Chicago 7 free to watch on YouTube this weekend.
- You can watch the Aaron Sorkin movie free of charge from Friday, February 19th at 12:00 a.m. PT to Saturday, February 20th at 11:59 p.m. PT.
- Netflix no longer offers a free trial, but it does put some shows and movies online for free.
Netflix is the most popular streaming service on the planet, but the competition has finally been heating up in recent years. Disney+ is off to a roaring start with nearly 100 million subscribers at last count, Peacock is now the exclusive home of The Office, and CBS All Access is being rebranded as Paramount+ in March.
With over 200 million subscribers, Netflix might not be in any danger of falling behind its competitors any time soon, but that doesn’t mean it can rest on its laurels. To that point, the streaming service announced on Thursday that one of its biggest releases of 2020 — The Trial of the Chicago 7 — will be available to stream on YouTube free of charge from Friday, February 19th at 12:00 a.m. PT to Saturday, February 20th at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Starring Sasha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, and Jeremy Strong, The Trial of the Chicago 7 recounts the true story of a group of protestors charged with conspiracy and the intent to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Aaron Sorkin, the writer and director of the Golden Globe-nominated movie, shared the following statement in a Netflix blog post about it being free to stream this weekend:
Since my initial introduction fourteen years ago, my relationship to the story of The Trial of the Chicago 7 has changed significantly. When we began shooting last winter, we knew the story we were telling was not only an important chapter of American history, but was plenty relevant to current events. We certainly didn’t need it to get more relevant, but it did. To commemorate the anniversary of the verdict in this historic trial, we’ve made the film available on YouTube for 48 hours starting Friday, February 19th at 12:00am PT, remembering the real patriots who inspired a generation – actually, generations – to take to the streets and uphold the foundations of our US Constitution, along with the courageous voices that continue to do so today. It’s our honor to share their story with the world.
Over the years, Netflix has made an increasing amount of its content available for free. There is actually a standalone page that features a collection of free shows for non-subscribers, including Stranger Things, Elite, Boss Baby: Back in Business, When They See Us, and more. The selection appears to rotate, because it’s a new set of shows than the last time we checked. There are also some other freebies available on Netflix’s YouTube page.
