With nearly 150 million subscribers around the world, Netflix has a commanding lead in the streaming wars. But it’s also facing heavy competition from deep-pocketed conglomerates like Disney, Apple, and AT&T, and an ongoing wave of narrow, targeted streaming sites like CBS All Access and DC Universe, which can draw on popular existing franchises for original content. As fewer companies are willing to license out their films and shows to other streaming sites, Netflix is pouring billions of dollars annually into its own original content. Follow along with The Verge as we look at Netflix’s new films and shows, its evolving strategies against new entrants in the market, and how it’s leveraging its technological and marketing lead.
“They asked if we could use Tim Cook instead, and we said no,” Seth Rogen, who serves as co-creator, writer, director, executive producer, and the star of the show, said to Business Insider. The show’s eighth episode did feature Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, who played himself.
Tim Cook did get the Severance treatment, at least.
Netflix’s Chief Product Officer Eunice Kim, on a call with reporters:
We’re monitoring that situation very closely, and we don’t have anything more to share at this time. But we’ll just continue to abide by the App Store policies until we hear more about how to best implement any changes going forward.
Spotify and Patreon have already made moves to take advantage of the changes required of Apple by the ruling.
Long Story Short, the new animated series from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg has a premiere date: it’ll be streaming on Netflix on August 22nd. The series follows the story of a single family, but jumps around in time, letting you “follow the Schwooper siblings from childhood to adulthood and back again.” You can get a first glimpse at it in these images.
Co-writer / director Matt Palmer’s Fear Street: Prom Queen is the first of Netflix’s new trilogy of horror features inspired by R.L. Stine’s books, and the movie’s first trailer makes it look like it’ll be a teen-friendly (albeit R-rated) riff on classic slashers when it debuts on May 23rd.
During Semafor’s World Economy Summit, Sarandos said the company still has “enormous room to grow:”
In the previous five years, we’ve doubled our revenue, we grew profits 10 times, and we grew our market cap three times. So there is a path to it, obviously, but it all is incredibly dependent on executing well.
Netflix’s new thriller iHostage is based on a real-life hostage situation that took place in Apple’s flagship Amsterdam store in 2002. The Dutch filmmakers weren’t able to film in the actual store, so they built a replica on a soundstage, as spotted by MacRumors.
Not only was the store’s layout and unique architecture recreated, the set also featured a towering screen wrapped around it to accurately simulate the bustling neighborhood visible through the store’s windows.
While we all impatiently wait for more news about the final season of Stranger Things, Netflix has shared a little about the show’s animated spinoff. It’s called Tales From ’85 and, well, that’s about all we know right now. The Duffer brothers say that the vibe will be “in the vein of the Saturday morning cartoons that we grew up loving,” which provides some idea of what to expect whenever it does stream.
In addition to dropping a new trailer for Wednesday’s upcoming second season, Netflix has confirmed that the series’ next chapter will be split in two with the first half debuting on August 6th, and the second on September 3rd.
Street Fighter IV: Champion Edition, specifically: it’s now available to play for free with a Netflix subscription on iOS and Android. Netflix said in September that the game was on the way.
Fresh off the heels of Wrestlemania 41, Netflix has revealed a teaser for its WWE docuseries coming this summer. Details about WWE: Unreal are still slim, but Netflix says it will let you “step into the WWE writer’s room and outside the ring with your favorite WWE Superstars, where the drama is just as intense offstage as it is under the spotlight.”
The simplified redesign has been in testing since last year, and it makes a title’s trailer and description much more prominent on your screen. Now Netflix is nearly ready to roll it out, as co-CEO Greg Peters said during an earnings call that it will arrive “later this year.”
After Warner Bros. Discovery passed on Genndy Tartakovsky’s Fixed, it seemed like the animated feature about a dog’s last night before getting the snip might never see the light of day, but Netflix has scooped the film up and plans to debut it on August 13th.
Though Adi Shankar’s Devil May Cry animated series has only been out for a week, Netflix has already greenlit it for a second season.
The Netflix anthology is back, but it’s a little warmer this time around.
Netflix has canceled the Netflix Stories interactive fiction IP, the company confirmed to PocketGamer.biz. The mobile app lets you play games based on Netflix shows like Emily in Paris, Selling Sunset, and Perfect Match.
Narrative games are one of Netflix’s four categories it’s focusing on for games, but it appears that Netflix Stories aren’t part of the equation anymore.
Before Dandadan’s upcoming second season streams on Netflix this July, the series’ season one finale, three new episodes, and an interview with co-directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora will screen together in theaters as Dandadan: Evil Eye. In Asia (outside of Japan), Evil Eye screenings start on May 30th, US screenings begin on June 6th, and European screenings start June 7th.
Owners of older Samsung TVs, even 2024 flagships, will have to wait to experience Netflix in HDR10 Plus for improved tone and brightness levels. According to Samsung:
HDR10+ content on Netflix will be accessible on 2025 Samsung Neo QLED, OLED and Lifestyle TVs — as well as 2025 and 2024 monitor models — with support for additional models in the future.
Hopefully “the future” isn’t too far away.
We’re not far out from the next batch of Black Mirror episodes hitting Netflix on April 10th. And while we’ve already seen some of the new season, that latest trailer provides a more detailed rundown of the six episodes, including the direct sequel to “USS Callister.”
Dead Talents Society, Taiwanese director John Hsu’s supernatural comedy about ghosts who have to earn haunting permits and sometimes compete in reality competitions for the deceased, was one of the most fantastic movies out of last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. And now that it’s streaming on Netflix, you should do yourself a favor and give it a watch.
Though Velma Dinkley didn’t end up doing so well in Max’s recent animated series, Netflix is giving her and the rest of Mystery Inc. another go with a new live-action Scooby Doo series from writers / showrunners Josh Appelbaum and Scott Rosenberg (who previously worked on the streamer’s live-action Cowboy Bebop adaptation).
HDR10 Plus streams have been added for “new releases and existing popular HDR titles,” with Netflix aiming to add it to all HDR content by the end of the year. This should help to address a visual quality gap on Samsung TVs, which don’t support Netflix’s Dolby Vision streams.
Netflix users will require a Premium subscription and a device that supports both AV1 and HDR10 Plus in order to benefit.
[netflixtechblog.com]
According to Deadline, Netflix has greenlit and is now looking to cast competitors for The Golden Ticket, Eureka Production’s new Willy Wonka-inspired reality series that “will challenge players not just physically, but mentally as they navigate games, tests, and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.”
