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Netflix Dishes The Data
Being transparent: Long-serving Netflix execs love to ruminate on the era when the company was a DVD mailing service, but what felt pertinent this week was the streamer’s more recent transformation into an outfit that is very much at ease with transparency over viewing data. The murky days of walled gardens and numbers being kept hidden from even the most in-the-know producers appear behind us, and Ted Sarandos was in the English capital to beat this particular drum. In a fortuitous bit of timing that was probably more execution than luck, the CEO keynoted a Netflix-sponsored RTS London Convention event in the week that the streamer’s latest data dump revealed the Brits have this year, in common parlance, absolutely smashed it. Sarandos was able to tease the ‘What We Watched’report during his Tuesday keynote, revealing that the four most-consumed shows of the first half of 2024 — Fool Me Once, Bridgerton, Baby Reindeer and The Gentlemen — were all British (Bridgerton is technically a U.S. commission, but is made in the UK with majority British acting talent). Hurrah. The at-ease discussion of viewing figures and the subsequent dropping of Netflix’s third data dump, which buttresses the weekly top 10s it has been publishing for several years, appeared to signal just where Netflix sits on transparency. Sponsoring a long-established UK TV industry event — featuring speakers ranging from David Beckham and Steven Knight (both of whom are currently involved with shows for Netflix), to the new Culture Secretary — is reflective of its standing in the sector. And just a day after his London speech, Sarandos came out swinging against his competitors, challenging them to be as “transparent” with their data as his own outfit. “I’m hoping that the other folks in the business will follow suit on that,” he told the Fast Company Innovation Festival in New York City. Coming from a Netflix exec, sentences like this would have been virtually unthinkable just a few years ago.
Could have Fooled me: The data dump came out two days after Sarandos’ keynote and revealed even better news for the Brits, with One Day sneaking into the top 10 and American Nightmare, a documentary series produced by UK label Raw TV, coming seventh. The numbers were overwhelming. These six UK or UK-adjacent titles were viewed nearly 500 million times in the first half of this year. In a further boon for Sarandos and co, my snap reaction chat with Harlan Coben and Nicola Shindler, the team behind record-breaker Fool Me Once, saw the storied pair shower praise on Netflix for its light-touch approach and penchant for projects with hybrid British-American sensibilities. As ever, Deadline’s international and U.S. teams were on hand to dive deeper into the data because, frankly, we love it. Zac took a look at the movies that have lit up the service and found it is the newer, streamer-friendly fare such as Millie Bobby Brown’s Damsel and Kevin Hart action flick Lift that dominated over the older stuff, clocking more than 250 million views together. Jesse had this revealing piece examining how Spanish-language titles have taken 2024 by storm, with Money Heist spin-off Berlin and Oscar nominee Society of the Snow two of 10 titles to make the top 100. Jake had a little look at how the licensing renaissance has led to big numbers for the likes of Young Sheldon and Sex and the City, while this report from Katie Campione on the best-performing canceled shows is 100% worth your time. All this took place at the same time as a separate Netflix event, Geeked Week, which unveiled teasers for big upcoming tentpoles including the latest Squid Game, Wednesday and The Sandman.
A local or global row?: Back to RTS London, and another notable line from Sarandos that concentrated attention (not that we weren’t concentrating beforehand) was his description of the Baby Reindeer true story debate as “uniquely British.” The debate around its authenticity and duty of care problems is “not happening anywhere else in the world,” argued Sarandos, with confidence. Audience eyebrows were raised — including several I spoke with at the Squid Game-themed drinks party later — following the comments, given that ‘real-life Martha’ Fiona Harvey’s lawsuit has been filed in the U.S., and that our sources outside the UK are hyper-engaged with the show’s labeling and ensuing fallout. If Netflix is constantly striving to be ‘local for global,’ well, this debate could certainly be filed under that concept. Baby Reindeer scooped another four Emmys last weekend and creator Richard Gadd, along with lead actor Jessica Gunning, were in the U.S. celebrating, trying to shift attentions to the show and away from real-life consequences. However, speaking exclusively to Deadline just after Sarandos had addressed RTS London, Harvey’s lawyer Richard Roth said Netflix’s strategy of “going for higher revenues and awards while leaving honesty and transparency behind” — there it is, that word ‘transparency’ once again — had “paid off.” Deadline also revealed this week that Gadd had struck a first-look deal with the streamer. With the Baby Reindeer defamation lawsuit heading to trial early next year, this debate ain’t going nowhere. Check out all our RTS London coverage here.
A Seriesly Deep New Event
Another one??: Deadline was front and center as a new event, Seriesly Berlin, opened its doors for the first time in the Mitte district of the German capital. Travel and expenses are under pressure everywhere and there’s a busy calendar of industry gatherings, so the question the organizers provocatively posed was: “Who the f**k needs another TV event?” Jesse and Stewart headed to the German capital to find out. The notion was to look at TV drama through a different lens rather than stage re-runs of discussions we’ve all heard before. The result? Some out-there sessions and a space for a deeper rumination on the world of scripted. There was a sprinkling of the usual commissioner-led pieces, but the sessions that popped were more reflective and writer-focused. Jesse had a powwow with Prime Video Germany and Austria Country Director Christoph Schneider, who talked about fans flocking to the set of mega-hit Maxton Hall – The World Between Us as Season 2 shot. There was also Season 3 chatter, so watch this space. Stewart took on a very meta session: Industry conference bosses talking at an industry conference about how to innovate at industry conferences. Other highlights included Weeds creator Jenji Kohan’s masterclass. She declared war on dystopian TV. For Jenji, it’s all about protopia (look it up, we had to). The Fotografiska cultural and arts center was the venue and a great backdrop for the first Seriesly, adding to the Berlin vibes. It’s not easy to launch a new event, but we’re keen to see where this one goes next. Check out the wrap here.
Breaking ‘Blitz‘
“Lightning war”: Steve McQueen is one of the most intriguing filmmakers alive today and our Baz simply couldn’t wait to catch up with him and talk Blitz, the Small Axe auteur’s World War Two movie starring Saoirse Ronan. The Oscar-winner was driven to make the movie when researching Small Axe, after discovering a faded monochrome photograph of a small Black boy, both hands gripping a valise. What has followed is a tale of a young boy amid what was dubbed the “lightning war,” when every journey was steeped in fear. As with all of his fare, McQueen can explain in intimate detail how he has made the characters as realistic as possible, desperate to avoid “cardboard cutout” British portrayals. Notably, he had a language coach and a movement director come in to adjust the young actors’ speech patterns to match the period. “They were playing children who’d never seen a mobile phone or been on the internet, so we had to shape their body language,” he explains to our roving International Editor-at-Large. Please do dive deeper.
Fremantle In The News Again
A week is a long time in entertainment: A fortnight ago, in this very newsletter, we dug into goings-on at Fremantle, and here we are again. It was too difficult to ignore the saga of Nicola Maccanico this week. Just nine days ago, the former Cinecittà boss was unveiled as the RTL-owned super-indie’s Italy chief — a high-profile, newly-created role for an exec who had worked with the likes of Edward Berger, Angelina Jolie and Luca Guadagnino of late. But just a few days later, Maccanico revealed he will no longer be joining, before he had even had a chance to get started. The reasoning is complex. While a Fremantle spokesman said the company simply “understands Nicola’s decision and wishes him best for the future,” an open letter in Italy’s Dagospia, the nation’s equivalent of Drudge Report, said he would not be taking up the role due to “a hostile climate” surrounding his resignation from Cinecittà over the summer. Elaborating, he refuted suggestions that the Cinecittà accounts had been left in a bad way under his management, while addressing questions around the contractual relationship between Fremantle and Cinecittà. It all feels a bit messy at a company going through constant change, having in the past few weeks merged Thames with Talkback yet again, laid of all staff at labels Euston Films and Undeniable, and lost two of its most senior sales execs, Angela Neillis and Max Bolenius. And a quick reminder: Southern Europe CEO Jaime Ondarza exited under a cloud earlier this year after falling victim to a $1M fake M&A scam. Questions now for continental Europe CEO Andrea Scrosati over whether he replaces Nicola or reshuffles the deck again. One thing’s for sure, Fremantle is struggling to keep itself out the news.
Huw Edwards Sentenced
Lenient, but reputation in tatters: Huw Edwards may have been spared jail after pleading guilty to accessing child abuse images on WhatsApp, but the former BBC News anchor left a London courtroom a registered sex offender and with his career in tatters. Judge Paul Goldspring’s six-month suspended prison led some to argue it was too lenient, though his reasoning appears to have followed similar precedents from down the years, and Edwards was a first offender. There were calls for a review, but the UK’s attorney general appears to have ruled this out on a technicality relating to the court’s status. Edwards will, however, be barred from ever working at the BBC again and his standing as a trusted national figure has been shredded. Edwards must know this, but he gave little away as he appeared in the dock on Monday. Jake headed to Westminster Magistrates Court, and he reported that Edwards’ expression was neutral for much of the time, while he appeared pensive during the judge’s remarks. He even managed a fleeting smile towards courtroom staff as he entered and exited his vantage point for the court hearing. Through his lawyer, he expressed remorse and sorrow for his actions, acknowledging he had “betrayed the priceless trust” of colleagues and his family.
BBC braces for more: BBC Director General Tim Davie told RTS London that Edwards’ crimes damaged the corporation’s reputation, but it was too early to tell whether he had impacted trust. Davie knows there is more to come. The BBC board has pledged to launch a workplace culture review and insiders have told Deadline that they are planning to dish dirt on examples of misconduct. There is even a suggestion that some employees will take the opportunity to relitigate grievances already investigated internally by the BBC. Davie said the BBC was “pretty close” to finalizing an investigation into Amanda Abbington‘s allegations that she was mistreated by her Strictly Come Dancing partner Giovanni Pernice. Two other reviews are also yet to be published: one into the conduct of former DJ Tim Westwood, which was launched in August 2022 and has cost £3M ($4M). Another review into Russell Brand is expected to report within weeks. In an update last year, the BBC said it was examining five complaints about Brand, who presented radio shows for the UK broadcaster. Pernice, Westwood and Brand all deny wrongdoing.
The Essentials
🌶️ Hot One: Big package hailing from Scandi crime mater Jo Nesbø, who is adapting The Night House.
🌶️ Hotter: Tehran star Niv Sultan is leading Israeli medical thriller Heart of a Killer from Sipur and North Road.
🌶️ Hotter still: Carolina Bartczak will lead Season 3 of CBC’s time-bending Plan B.
📬 Submissions: International feature film submissions have been flowing in including Scandinavia, France and Spain.
📚 Records broken: Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days hit a UK theatrical landmark and became the German filmmaker’s biggest title in multiple territories.
🇺🇸 ElectionLine: The Rest is Politics unveiled a U.S. YouTube election special with, amongst others, Anthony Scaramucci aka ‘The Mooch.’
🏕️ Festivals: Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh and Jimmy Akingbola will deliver keynotes at The Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa’s (HACSA) Sankofa Summit.
💼 New job: Neom appointed an acting sector head for media amid a damaging probe into accusations of racism and inappropriate behavior against top execs.
🔄 Rejig: Prime Video tinkered with teams in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
👋 Exiting: European commissioner Thierry Breton, the man who took on big tech and Elon Musk.
🐍 Python latest: John Cleese accused Eric Idle of “invention” as hostilities were renewed between the ageing comedians.
🍿 Box office: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice conjured $246M worldwide last weekend.
🌎 Global breakouts: Ireland’s The Boy That Never Was is well worth a watch, and a deep dive.
🖼️ Pics: Of Paddington in Peru… marmalade sandwiches at the ready.
🎥 Trail: For Chaplin: Spirit of the Tramp, as Andreas revealed first distribution deals.
This week’s International Insider was written by Max Goldbart and edited by Jesse Whittock. Stewart Clarke and Jake Kanter contributed.
