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.
Makoto Shinkai’s excellent anime feature hit Netflix today, just in time for your Friday movie night. And when you’re done watching, be sure to check out our chat with Shinkai. (And, if you haven’t already, watch Weathering With You and Your Name.)
As Paul Sun-Hyung Lee sees it, truly loving a genre franchise means wanting to share it and pass it along to the next generation of fans.
Geralt is getting a whole new face season four of Netflix’s live-action The Witcher adaptation. But in addition to Liam Hemworth, the show has also added Sharlto Copley as Leo Bonhart, James Purefoy as Skellen, and Danny Woodburn as Zoltan to the cast.
There’s a little more of Edwin and Charles doing their ghostly detective work in the trailer for Netflix’s Sandman spinoff, Dead Boy Detectives
Detectives, which comes from showrunners Steve Yockey, who wrote the excellent Doom Patrol and Sweet Tooth co-creator Beth Schwartz, will be up for streaming starting on April 25th.
Netflix is next up in making a fictional series about true crime podcasters. Bodkin is described as a “darkly comedic thriller” set in the titular “idyllic, coastal Irish town,” and it stars Will Forte, Siobhán Cullen, Robyn Cara, David Wilmot, and Chris Walley. It starts streaming on May 9th.
Neither has any of the apps we’re used to.
Andrew Webster’s reviews of the 3 Body headset and the tablet from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom each drive home the necessity of a healthy ecosystem, even for the coolest tech.
While we already knew The Boy and the Heron would soon be available on Max in the US, Netflix has secured worldwide streaming rights, and announced its plans to debut the movie in the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan), Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America markets in the comings months.
Though David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo’s 3 Body Problem is impressive, it really feels like just an introduction to Cixin Liu’s deeper ideas.
Netflix’s latest sports docuseries follows the same format as the Peyton Manning-produced Quarterback. The only difference is that it highlights top NFL receivers, including Davante Adams, Justin Jefferson, George Kittle, Deebo Samuel, and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The eight-episode series, Receiver, hits Netflix this summer and comes as part of the streamer’s broader push into sports documentaries and live events.
If it’s been a while since you thought about Sofia Boutella in Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire as Imperium soldier Kora, there’s a solid chance Rebel Moon — Part Two The Scargiver’s new trailer will leave you more than a bit confused about what’s going on.
The movie hits Netflix on April 19th.
The latest (and seemingly final) trailer for Netflix’s upcoming 3 Body Problem adaptation doesn’t quite spell out exactly what kind of mysterious threat plunges humanity as a whole into a panic. But it’s pretty clear that the Earth’s most brilliant minds are gearing up for a war they might not be able to win when 3 Body Problem debuts on March 21st.
It was sort of a given that Netflix’s new adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley would make for an intriguing watch, but the series’ latest trailer also leaves little question about how absolutely gorgeous it’s going to be when it hits the streamer on April 4th.
And, I suppose, without all the body horror.
Chicken Nugget’s trailer introduces the story of a woman stepping into a techno-locker that turns her into a crispy ball of breaded chicken, and now her dad and a guy who has a crush on her. It starts streaming on March 15th.
The streaming service, answering a question we asked in November, has canceled The Brothers Sun, a dark action comedy starring Michelle Yeoh, Justin Chien, and Sam Song Li.
Deadline, which reported the cancellation yesterday, wrote that it simply underperformed during its first — and now only — season. If you missed the show, enjoy this killer rendition of “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” from the trailer.
For a while now, we’ve known Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising from directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima was slated to debut some time this year for, but the animated film’s finally a proper June 14th release date.
The new bundle comes with Netflix’s ad-free Premium plan and AMC Plus for a price of $25.99 / month (saving you $5.99 if you were to subscribe to both services separately). It’s only available to Verizon customers who combine “select” home internet and select 5G mobile plans now through March 31st.
Verizon started offering a $10 / month Netflix and Max bundle last year, furthering its bet on becoming a streaming middleman.
That’s according to data analytics firm Antenna, which reported that streaming subs grew year-over-year in 2023 — albeit more slowly than previous years — but cancellations were up by 36.2 million versus 2022, and weren’t far behind the number of new subscribers.
That much churn isn’t surprising, given all the rate hikes and crackdowns on password sharing.
Before 3 Body Problem premieres this spring on Netflix, WSJ Magazine dug into David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to discuss this new book-to-TV adaptation and, of course, their last one too.
They reveal AT&T execs asked if GoT could be shot vertically for phones and discussed making “snackable” mini-episodes (like, quick bites, you might say). They also said an idea to end Thrones with three movies instead of 13 episodes split across two seasons was rejected, apparently with a reminder that HBO doesn’t stand for “Away Box Office.”
Avatar: The Last Airbender actor Dallas Liu opens up about turning to YouTube and co-star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee to figure out who the new Prince Zuko really is.
Netflix’s live-action Avatar has its heart in the right place, but its pacing and uneven performances leave a lot to be desired.
We’re only a few days out from the premiere of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the series’ final trailer gives us our best look yet at what sort of VFX-heavy action set pieces the streamer has cooked up for the Gaang.
Netflix has announced that new episodes of Pokémon Concierge are in production. Pokémon Concierge is a too-cute-by-half stop-motion show that lets ‘mons take a well-deserved break from all the brutal prizefighting.
Here’s hoping Mariya Takeuchi returns with another bop for season 2.
YouTube was the most-watched streaming option over the past 12 months, according to data from Nielsen. In January, YouTube accounted for 8.6 percent of usage in the US, followed by Netflix at 7.9 percent. That’s more than the next eight services combined.
Separately, YouTube says users around the world watched over 1 billion hours of content on the site’s TV app every day, while creators saw a 400 percent increase in watch time on TVs.
Nimona is one of those films that just makes you grin when its over. It’s got charisma in spades and is an excellent, if long overdue, adaptation of graphic novel with the same name. Nimona comes from ND Stevenson, the cartoonist and creator of the similarly excellent She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.
And now if you’re too lazy to log into your Netflix account, or don’t even have one to begin with, you can watch the whole movie on YouTube!
