FilmStruck Fans, Fear Not: The Criterion Collection Is Saving The Day

Despite the personal requests from world-famous directors Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, WarnerMedia’s FilmStruck is no more, recently announcing that it will shut down on November 29. But before you mourn the loss of your streaming access to iconic and cult classic films, the Criterion Collection is here to save the day.

The collection is launching a new, freestanding service called the Criterion Channel. The service will give subscribers access to stream a plethora of films ranging from behind-the-scenes commentary to Katherine Hepburn classics to arthouse indie darlings and everything in between. To start, it will only be available in the United States and Canada, though Criterion says it hopes to quickly expand to more countries.

The Criterion Channel will launch in spring 2019 and promises to pick up where the beloved FilmStruck left off. The collection says this will be “a movie lover’s dream streaming service, with smart thematic programming, where the history of cinema can live and breathe, where a new generation of filmmakers and film lovers can explore the classics or revel in rarities, where adventurous cinephiles can champion films that have never gotten their due, and newcomers can easily find guidance from major filmmakers, top scholars, curators, and other experts from all walks of life.”

If you simply can’t wait to sign up for access to all the films you can’t get on Netflix, you can subscribe now at a discounted rate that also comes with extra perks. You’ll only be charged once the service launches, The Verge reports.

So cinephiles — get ready to treat yourself to all the hard-to-find films you could want. Or, if you’re still trying to think of a great Christmas present to get your film-obsessed friend, a subscription to The Criterion Channel could be just the thing.