Netflix Boss: “We Have Never Canceled A Successful Show”

Netflix has canceled, or ended, a number of TV shows over the years, and co-CEO Ted Sarandos has commented on this in a new interview with Bloomberg. He told the publication that Netflix has never canceled a “successful” show. The company cuts programming when budgets don’t match the resulting viewership, Sarandos said.

“We have never canceled a successful show,” Sarandos said. “A lot of these shows were well-intended but talk to a very small audience on a very big budget. The key to it is you have to be able to talk to a small audience on a small budget and a large audience at a large budget. If you do that well, you can do that forever.”

Netflix announced the cancellation of 20 shows in 2022, including Stranger Things, Space Force, The Umbrella Academy, Resident Evil, and Blockbuster. See the gallery below to see more of the shows Netflix’s canceled in 2022.

While Netflix has canceled a number of shows, the company still has a massive library of content, so much so it’s become a meme about not knowing what to watch. Sarandos said the flood of content on Netflix has helped jumpstart the careers of many actors.

“This meme of, ‘I can’t find things on Netflix’ … I mean, hundreds and hundreds of stars that did not have a career before Netflix did because they were found on Netflix,” Sarandos said.

Netflix recently launched an ad-based tier and continues to invest in different types of programming, like its first live show. Chris Rock will host a live comedy special in March. “It’s going to add a different element to comedy. A results show of a competition show is way better live,” Sarandos said.

In other news about Netflix, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film series is returning to the platform in February. As of Netflix’s latest count, the company had more than 220 million subscribers globally.

Netflix is also making big moves into the world of video games, with more than 50 games in development. The company hopes to become a “big leader” in the video game space.