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.
Netflix’s now-annual Geeked Week kicks off on September 16th, and this new trailer gives an idea of what will be there. Which is to say, expect the hits, like Arcane, Avatar, and Squid Game.
Netflix is about to look back at the history of WWE co-founder Vince McMahon with a six-episode series premiering September 25th. Just after Netflix signed a 10-year $5 billion dollar deal with WWE in January, McMahon was accused of sex trafficking and abuse and resigned as executive chairman of its parent company, TKO.
The series covers McMahon’s transformation of WWE from a small, regional business into a global entertainment powerhouse, and the explosive sexual misconduct allegations that led to his eventual resignation.
Rather than celebrating the ten year anniversary of BoJack Horseman’s premiere by bringing the show back, Netflix has greenlit a new animated series from Raphael Bob-Waksberg that will feature art from Lisa Hanawalt.
At Opening Night Live 2024, Netflix showed off a trailer of Squid Game: Unleashed, the upcoming Squid Game mobile title. The trailer makes the game look kind of silly, which feels at odds with the themes of the actual show.
The game is set to release later this year. The show’s second season is coming soon, too, on December 26th.
The somber Studio Ghibli film, which follows two young siblings navigating a post-WWII Japan, arrives on Netflix on September 16th.
Though there will be plenty of treasure hunting in Netflix’s Tomb Raider animated series, its latest trailer puts the focus on big action set pieces and Lara Croft’s brawling chops.
Mortals will die in Netflix’s Kaos as the greek gods lash out at humanity for their lack of faith, but the series’ latest trailer kinda makes hades look more like a monochromatic drag than a tortuous hellscape.
Following up on its surprise Godzilla Minus One drop earlier this summer, Netflix is now streaming the film’s moody black and white cut as well.
The anime Terminator Zero hits Netflix next month as part of a busy summer of streaming sci-fi. Now we have our first full trailer for the series, which takes place in 1997 just as the Skynet AI becomes self-aware. If nothing else, the new clip will likely get the Smashing Pumpkins stuck in your head.
Just in time for the summer Olympics, Netflix has launched a multiplayer athletics competition with the very on-the-nose title of Sports Sports. It’s available on mobile now (so long as you have a Netflix subscription, of course).
Netflix has been so quiet about its Bioshock film adaptation that it almost seemed as if the project might have been put on the back burner. But during a panel at this year’s SDCC, producer Roy Lee assured fans that, while Netflix has “reconfigured” the movie to be smaller and more personal, it’s still very much in the works.
Ahead of a new batch of Pokémon Horizons episodes debuting on August 9th, Netflix has dropped a new trailer for San Diego Comic-Con teasing just how much more intense the series’ battles are about to get.
We’ve all seen Jeff Goldblum lean into his quirkiness, but the menacing regality of his take on Zeus is what really jumps out in the first trailer for Netflix’s upcoming series Kaos due out August 29th.
Ahead of the debut of Rebel Moon — The Director’s Cut debuting this August, Netflix has whipped up a red band trailer that — compared to the film’s multi-hour runtime — feels like exactly the right amount of Zack Snyder you should consume in one sitting.
In Netflix’s earnings report today, the streamer says bundling with other services like Disney Plus and Max “limits the benefit” to Netflix:
We haven’t bundled Netflix solely with other streamers like Disney+ or Max because Netflix already operates as a go-to destination for entertainment... This has driven industry leading penetration, engagement and retention for us, which limits the benefit to Netflix of bundling directly with other streamers.
When asked about bundling with competitors on Decoder in June, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said “never say never.”
While Apple TV Plus has previously dabbled in the movie licensing game to supplement its lineup of original projects, Bloomberg reports that talks are underway with other studios that could lead to the streamer looking a little differ (and perhaps more like Netflix) in the near future.
There will be plenty of traditional television series like Shōgun and The Bear in the running at the 76th Emmys in September. But given how many Netflix, HBO, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, and Amazon projects were just nominated for awards, this year’s competition seems like it could easily go to the streamers.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
Netflix announced it’s adding a slew of AMC shows on August 19th. They include Preacher, The Terror, Into The Badlands, and the first season of the extremely good Interview With The Vampire. These shows used to be sequestered on AMC Plus, requiring yet another subscription fee to watch. But their Netflix arrival shows cross-platform cooperation ain’t just for Xbox and PlayStation anymore.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney is trying to make its streaming platforms work and feel more like Netflix. For example:
New features in the works at Disney include a more-personalized algorithm to power content recommendations, customized promotional art for new shows and movies based on subscriber’s tastes and usage history, and emails sent to viewers who stop watching in the middle of a series reminding them to finish, according to people familiar with the matter.
There’s lots more in the full story.
That’s a new limited series coming to Netflix from Haley Z. Boston and Upside Down Pictures (the production company launched by Stranger Things co-creators Matt and Ross Duffer).
“According to the logline, the series will follow a bride and groom in the week leading up to their ill-fated wedding,” says Netflix. “And obviously, it’s not a spoiler to share that not all goes right with the nuptials.”
We all knew the Stranger Things kids would look a bit older for the show’s fifth and final season, but seeing them all back in Hawkins High in this new behind the scenes video really emphasizes how the show’s last chapter can’t get here fast enough.
There was some hope that The Umbrella Academy might switch up its formula and give the Hargreeves siblings a new kind of adventure for the show’s fourth and final season (out August 8th.)
But Netflix’s new trailer kinda makes it seem like they’ll be doing what they always do — averting an apocalypse of their own making.
Much like MTV News and its archives, Pimp My Ride is no longer with us, but Netflix’s new car restoration show Resurrection Rides looks like it’ll be the next best thing when it premieres on July 24th.
There are a bunch of new games available on Netflix today! Cozy Grove: Camp Spirit is out now, as is The Case of the Golden Idol. If you like those Netflix interactive fiction games, then Netflix Stories: Perfect Match will be right for you, or just play some Hearts. Also, while not available today the streamer has announced that Thirsty Suitors is coming to the platform soon.
Netflix’s Greg Peters on a new culture memo and where ads, AI, and games fit in
The co-CEO who replaced co-founder Reed Hastings details the company’s new culture memo, its ad ambitions, and what’s next for Netflix.