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.
The latest (and seemingly final) trailer for Netflix’s upcoming 3 Body Problem adaptation doesn’t quite spell out exactly what kind of mysterious threat plunges humanity as a whole into a panic. But it’s pretty clear that the Earth’s most brilliant minds are gearing up for a war they might not be able to win when 3 Body Problem debuts on March 21st.
It was sort of a given that Netflix’s new adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley would make for an intriguing watch, but the series’ latest trailer also leaves little question about how absolutely gorgeous it’s going to be when it hits the streamer on April 4th.
And, I suppose, without all the body horror.
Chicken Nugget’s trailer introduces the story of a woman stepping into a techno-locker that turns her into a crispy ball of breaded chicken, and now her dad and a guy who has a crush on her. It starts streaming on March 15th.
The streaming service, answering a question we asked in November, has canceled The Brothers Sun, a dark action comedy starring Michelle Yeoh, Justin Chien, and Sam Song Li.
Deadline, which reported the cancellation yesterday, wrote that it simply underperformed during its first — and now only — season. If you missed the show, enjoy this killer rendition of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” from the trailer.
For a while now, we’ve known Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising from directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima was slated to debut some time this year for, but the animated film’s finally a proper June 14th release date.
The new bundle comes with Netflix’s ad-free Premium plan and AMC Plus for a price of $25.99 / month (saving you $5.99 if you were to subscribe to both services separately). It’s only available to Verizon customers who combine “select” home internet and select 5G mobile plans now through March 31st.
Verizon started offering a $10 / month Netflix and Max bundle last year, furthering its bet on becoming a streaming middleman.
That’s according to data analytics firm Antenna, which reported that streaming subs grew year-over-year in 2023 — albeit more slowly than previous years — but cancellations were up by 36.2 million versus 2022, and weren’t far behind the number of new subscribers.
That much churn isn’t surprising, given all the rate hikes and crackdowns on password sharing.
Before 3 Body Problem premieres this spring on Netflix, WSJ Magazine dug into David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to discuss this new book-to-TV adaptation and, of course, their last one too.
They reveal AT&T execs asked if GoT could be shot vertically for phones and discussed making “snackable” mini-episodes (like, quick bites, you might say). They also said an idea to end Thrones with three movies instead of 13 episodes split across two seasons was rejected, apparently with a reminder that HBO doesn’t stand for “Away Box Office.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender actor Dallas Liu opens up about turning to YouTube and co-star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to figure out who the new Prince Zuko really is.
Netflix’s live-action Avatar has its heart in the right place, but its pacing and uneven performances leave a lot to be desired.
We’re only a few days out from the premiere of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the series’ final trailer gives us our best look yet at what sort of VFX-heavy action set pieces the streamer has cooked up for the Gaang.
Netflix has announced that new episodes of Pokémon Concierge are in production. Pokémon Concierge is a too-cute-by-half stop-motion show that lets ‘mons take a well-deserved break from all the brutal prizefighting.
Here’s hoping Mariya Takeuchi returns with another bop for season 2.
YouTube was the most-watched streaming option over the past 12 months, according to data from Nielsen. In January, YouTube accounted for 8.6 percent of usage in the US, followed by Netflix at 7.9 percent. That’s more than the next eight services combined.
Separately, YouTube says users around the world watched over 1 billion hours of content on the site’s TV app every day, while creators saw a 400 percent increase in watch time on TVs.
Nimona is one of those films that just makes you grin when its over. It’s got charisma in spades and is an excellent, if long overdue, adaptation of graphic novel with the same name. Nimona comes from ND Stevenson, the cartoonist and creator of the similarly excellent She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
And now if you’re too lazy to log into your Netflix account, or don’t even have one to begin with, you can watch the whole movie on YouTube!
We’re still a few months out from the premiere of The Umbrella Academy ‘s fourth and final season, but we now know that the show’s due back on August 8th thanks to this set of style-focused posters from Netflix.
The latest trailer for Netflix’s Damsel has dangerous dragons, elaborate fantasy costumes, and Millie Bobby Brown getting tossed off a bridge. Which is to say: it looks like a blast. And the movie starts streaming pretty soon, hitting Netflix on March 8th.
Season six of Netflix’s Formula 1 docuseries (that all of the others are trying to copy) arrives on February 23rd, ready to recap last season’s action (and inevitable ending) that set up the offseason madness racing fans are currently dealing with.
We’ll see if it has any hints about Lewis Hamilton’s upcoming Ferrari switch, Guenther Steiner’s exit from Haas, or whatever is being investigated about Christian Horner. In the meantime, has anyone watched the NASCAR attempt, Full Speed?
The streamer is planning to debut a new docuseries in 2025 that features “unprecedented access to Red Sox players, coaches, and executives” during the 2024 season. Later this year, Netflix will also release a documentary about the Red Sox’s 2004 season, which led to the team’s historic World Series win.
The streamer has been slowly revealing its slate of streaming TV and films, and now the focus is on Korea — a market where Netflix is investing quite a bit. Among this year’s Korean originals are new seasons of Squid Game, Sweet Home, and Hellbound; the historical drama Uprising, co-written by Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook; and a reality show where influencers compete “to find the one true content creator who generates the biggest buzz — by any means necessary.”
From a distance, Netflix’s last-minute decision to cancel the release of executive producer Halle Berry’s nearly-completed sci-fi flick The Mothership has looked a lot like the streamer following in Warner Bros. Discovery’s footsteps.
But according to Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bejaria, between production delays, and creative issues “everybody just felt like it was the right thing to not do it.”
Netflix just revealed its upcoming slate for both TV shows and movies, and arguably the biggest reveal was that season two of Squid Game would premiere later in 2024. As part of the announcement, we got a handful of images from the new season — though there are still no real details on what the story will entail.
The co-founder donated two million shares (about 40 percent of his direct holdings) to Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The Wall Street Journal notes that the charity is popular with tech founders with over $10 billion in assets at the close of 2022. Donors see an immediate tax benefit (like avoiding payment of capital-gains tax) but funds can ultimately “sit for years” before being distributed.
The past two years have been a whirlwind of changes at Netflix — and it’s all to transform the company into a revenue-driving machine that outlives other streamers.
In what Variety called an otherwise business-as-usual annual 10-K report to the SEC, Netflix wrote that it “could be adversely impacted” if its competitors use generative AI to gain an edge.
The company also claimed that using AI-generated material could leave it more exposed to litigation over intellectual property, given the open questions around copyright law and AI.
On the eve of one of WWE’s biggest events, the Royal Rumble, Vince McMahon has resigned from all of his duties at TKO Group Holdings. After Endeavor acquired WWE (and merged it with UFC) earlier this year, he had been appointed executive chairman of the combined company and held a seat on the board.
But earlier this week, a former employee sued McMahon and accused him of sex trafficking and abuse. The filing contains many heinous text messages and details — and it’s not the first time McMahon has been accused of deeply troubling behavior. The allegations started to affect WWE’s business, with longtime advertiser Slim Jim pausing its sponsorship of tomorrow’s event.
Now, with WWE’s streaming future a done deal, McMahon has made a swift exit from Ari Emanuel’s company, finally allowing WWE to begin a new chapter.
In this episode, we get our first glimpse of Nilay’s fabulously lucrative “alternate app marketplace” idea, we have a lot of thoughts about whether Netflix is better than cable or is just cable again, and all expose ourselves as thoroughly un-knowledgeable about wrestling. But we do know all about Pokemon with guns.
WWE’s week was off to a great start. There was a blockbuster 10-year, $5 billion deal to stream Monday Night Raw on Netflix beginning next January, and its Endeavor-owned parent company, TKO, added Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to its board of directors.
So much for that.
The Wall Street Journal today published an in-depth report on WWE co-founder (and current TKO executive chairman) Vince McMahon, who is being accused of sex trafficking by a former employee. The Journal has led the way in covering previous allegations against McMahon, which prompted WWE to conduct an investigation. This latest report goes into many deeply disturbing details.
With WWE’s major content deals now secured, how much tolerance will Endeavor have for McMahon’s alleged behavior?
In an interview with Stratechery, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters says the company wants to “see where things go with the Vision Pro:”
We have to be careful about making sure that we’re not investing in places that are not really yielding a return... Certainly we’re always in discussions with Apple to try and figure that out but right now, the device is so subscale that it’s not really particularly relevant to most of our members.
Netflix’s iPad app won’t work with the Vision Pro, either, which means users will have to access it in a web browser.
[Stratechery by Ben Thompson]
