Saying that the Sundance award-winning film Cuties meets the definition of child pornography, almost three dozen Republican members of Congress led by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana have called on Attorney General Bill Barr to prosecute Netflix for distributing it.
Exclusives
At the heart of the backlash is the idea that Cuties is dangerously and irresponsibly sexualizing pre-teen girls, which, ironically, is what the movie itself is criticizing too. The campaign against the film, which includes calls for the Department of Justice to investigate it and hundreds of thousands calling for subscribers to cancel their Netflix accounts, is riddled with inaccuracies due in part to the fact that some critics have not seen the film (one claims that there is child nudity when there is not).
It’s an end of an era at Netflix as Cindy Holland (left), who led the streamer’s foray into original programming and helped turn the DVD-by-mail company into an original series powerhouse, will be leaving. A month and a half after longtime Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was named co-CEO, he is shaking up the streamer’s top TV executive ranks. Netflix’s vast original TV content portfolio had been split between Holland, VP, original content, who has overseen all English-language programming, and Bela Bajaria (right), VP, local language originals, who has been leading non-English TV programming. The two areas are now being combined under Bajaria, who has been named VP, global TV.
The co-CEO of the streaming giant discusses his company’s culture of candor and how working from home is harder.
The Umbrella Academy was the runaway top title on Netflix in its first full week of release, according to figures from Nielsen. The ratings data provider is launching a weekly streaming top 10 list, with the first set of data covering the week of Aug. 3-9. For now, Nielsen measures only programs on Netflix and Amazon, with other streaming providers to be added in the future.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have signed a deal with Netflix. It will include scripted series, docuseries, documentaries, features and children’s programming. The focus will be on creating a wide range of programmes about stories and issues that resonate with them personally — including highlighting issues that their nonprofit Archewell is focused on. There are already several projects in development including an innovative nature docu-series and an animated series that celebrates inspiring women. Markle has no plans to return to acting.
Shares of Roku Inc. surged over 11% on Wednesday after Citi initiated coverage of the streaming video company with a “buy” rating, while Netflix also rallied more than 11%. Roku and Netflix are among several technology-related companies that have benefited as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with people around the world spending more time at home.
Netflix is aggressively searching for its own large-scale talent competition and a big-ticket game show as it moves into its next phase of non-scripted originals. The streamer is looking to do more four-quadrant family entertainment shows to build on its recent reality shows such as Too Hot To Handle and Love Is Blind.
The streamer is testing out a new “Shuffle Play” button that allows viewers to watch TV and movie titles randomly selected by the streaming service. The button appears on the profiles page only on TV devices, including Roku.
Four cities in Indiana are suing Netflix and other video companies, claiming that online video providers and satellite TV operators should have to pay the same franchise fees that cable companies pay for using local rights of way.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sarah Cooper, whose lip-sync parodies of President Donald Trump are an online sensation, is coming to Netflix with a variety special. “Everything’s Fine,” starring the writer and comedian, will debut this fall, the streaming service said Wednesday. Cooper is working with heavyweight talent on the special: Maya Rudolph is the executive […]
The Emmy smackdown between Netflix and HBO has taken another dramatic turn. As the Television Academy announced the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards nominations on Tuesday morning, Netflix came out on top swinging with a whopping 160 nominations, followed by rival HBO in second at 107 nods. HBO’s Watchmen led the programs with 26 nods.
Netflix also cautioned that the pandemic-fueled production shutdowns will begin to hit the company in 2021, with “a more second half weighted content slate in terms of our big titles.”
Ted Sarandos has been promoted at Netflix to Co-CEO, sharing the title with Reed Hastings, who also serves as co-founder. Sarandos joins the company’s board of directors as a result. “Ted has been my partner for decades. This change makes formal what was already informal — that Ted and I share the leadership of Netflix,” Hastings said.
Netflix shares cooled down Tuesday, slipping 2% to about $517, after UBS downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy” on concerns about difficult subscriber comparisons in upcoming quarters.
It’s been a rough week for the Archieverse. Just days after The CW pulled the plug on Riverdale spinoff Katy Keene, Netflix has gone and canceled fellow sister series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina after two super-sized seasons (or four parts),
The Parents Television Council is calling on Netflix CEO Reed Hastings to personally intervene and remove the film 365 Days, which it says glamorizes sex trafficking, rape and kidnapping, from its streaming service. A sequel is reportedly in the works. “At a time when our nation is enmeshed in a dialogue about eliminating vestiges of slavery and oppression […]
Imperial Capital analyst David Miller has cut his rating on the stock of streaming giant Netflix from “outperform” to “neutral,” while maintaining his price target of $489. In a Monday report, he cited the stock’s run-up this year. “Thus far, for 2020, Netflix’s shares have risen 50.2 percent, versus the S&P 500, which is down 3.3%,” the analyst highlighted. “In the last 18 months, shares of Netflix are up 81.6%, versus the S&P 500, which is up 26.1%.”
The company didn’t set out to build a big library of Black programming, but now it’s the envy of its rivals.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and his wife, Patty Quillin, are donating $120 million toward student scholarships at historically black colleges and universities. The couple is giving $40 million to each of three institutions: the United Negro College Fund, Spelman College and Morehouse College. The organizations said it is the largest individual gift in support of student scholarships at HBCUs.
Publicity veteran Michelle Slavich is leaving Warner Bros. Pictures for Netflix. In her new role as VP publicity, Slavich will oversee the communications for the streamer’s series, film and documentary programming in the U.S. and Canada. She will report to Netflix communications chief Rachel Whetstone, with whom she previously worked at Google.
Performing in front of an intimate, socially distanced crowd for a surprise Netflix special called 8:46 that dropped late Thursday night, the comedian celebrated the nationwide protests sparked from Floyd’s death in recent weeks while struggling to understand the reason behind his passing.
