Netflix Users Only Have Hours Left To Watch The Superhero Movie Alan Ritchson Called ‘The Worst Production Experience’ Ever

Alan Ritchson has risen from a model and American Idol contestant to a leading action star and one of the biggest talents in Hollywood today. Ever since his first major acting role as Aquaman on The CW’s Smallville, Ritchson has shown off his acting chops in countless movies and TV shows, including Titans, Blue Mountain State, and his breakout role in Reacher. Fans looking to revisit the actor’s filmography only have a few hours left to stream the 20% Rotten Tomatoes superhero film that Ritchson called “the worst production experience” of his career.

A year after starring as Gloss in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Ritchson took on the role of Raphael in the 2014 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That movie and its 2016 sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, are scheduled to leave Netflix on December 17th. The movies center around the pizza-loving heroes created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman as they take on villains like Shredder and later Krang.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Made Alan Ritchson ‘Hate Life’

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TMNT is a beloved franchise, but Ritchson doesn’t look back on his involvement in the franchise fondly. In a previous interview with Collider, the actor described his experience on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film as “rough,” “abusive,” and “the worst production experience” of his career. Ritchson described a lack of standard protections and overtime and said he wasn’t provided transportation home following gruelingly long filming days.

Although Ritchson said the role was initially pitched to him as providing “the next Andy Serkis” level of exposure and he signed on with the promise of being “just as much a part of this as anybody without the mask,” he said he and his fellow Turtles were left out of all worldwide premieres, global press, and major exposure. Ritchson still returned for the 2016 sequel with a promise from the studio of “making it up to him,” but that never happened, he claimed.

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That terrible production experience, which Ritchson said made him “hate life,” unfortunately didn’t translate any better on the screen. Although the movie became the highest-grossing film in the TMNT franchise at the time with a $485 million gross box office haul, it failed to earn much love from critics or audiences. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuted to negative reviews from critics with an abysmal 20% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes with complaints over a weak origin story, especially for Splinter, a nonsensical plot, a confusing villain with Shredder and Eric Sacks, and poor character designs for the turtles. The movie performed a bit better with audiences, with a 50% rating.

Where to Stream Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 After They Leave Netflix?

TMNT fans will have limited viewing options once Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 depart Netflix. The first movie currently doesn’t stream outside of the major platform, but its sequel is currently available on Paramount+. Neither of the movies is scheduled to join a rival service in December, so their availability will be much more limited.

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