A Thin Line Between Netflix Love and Hate
A Thin Line Between Netflix Love and Hate
Three snubs in a row raise questions about app-a-phobia and our broken culture
There are lots of good things about Netflix. Bold, fearless in many ways. Ted's stand for Dave Chappelle marks the only statement from a studio head standing by an artist in their employ in the crosshairs. They pay lots of people all kinds of money. Both their shows and their films are more diverse than anything you ever saw at the studios.
Their leadership may not be particularly or obviously extra, but the team is a breath of fresh air in today's MBA-heavy-spreadsheet-loving CEO ranks. Coming from a very retail background, Ted often seems to be the only leader in Hollywood who's ever spoken to an entertainment consumer. In causes dear to the entertainment community — from the Academy museum to the Egyptian Theatre — he's given generously both with cash and time. He actually seems to be the last person in town who likes this place. Is having a good time. Who still thinks being part of this place is actually fun.
Netflix has revived genres that Hollywood had moronically neglected.
The rom com was all but a relic when Team Ted picked it up and brought it to life again. And if their shows and films can seem a bit slapdash at times, they are also refreshingly free of Hollywood pieties — freely ranging from places the TV producers pack would never venture: broad middle American fare, sophisticated highbrow pieces, wildly out there reality shows.