Netflix film chief Dan Lin is out amid a sweeping overhaul that has already seen the departure of content boss Bela Bajaria and layoffs of roughly 1,000 employees.
Lin, who took over the streaming giant’s film division in April 2024, is leaving just a week before former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice takes over as chief content officer on Oct. 26.
Recent job cuts hit Netflix’s product, technology, legal and human resources departments particularly hard, according to Reuters.
The layoffs previously claimed film vice president Doug Belgrad, a top lieutenant of Lin’s, and independent films director Sheroum Kim.
The cuts extended to Netflix’s television division, with executives Lisa Lang McMullen, James Oh, Carolina Garcia and Andrew McQuinn all getting the boot.
Lin is the veteran producer behind “The Lego Movie” and the “It” franchise who succeeded Scott Stuber with a mandate to rein in spending and scale back Netflix’s movie slate, according to The Wrap.
He also revamped the division’s structure around individual genres while prioritizing comedies, rom-coms and movies based on books.
Under Lin’s watch, Netflix released films including “Happy Gilmore 2,” “The Rip” and “War Machine”, while “Train Dreams” earned critical praise.
But Lin also faced friction with Hollywood talent over Netflix’s reluctance to give its movies traditional theatrical releases, according to The Wrap.
Lin told the New York Times in June that directors demanding an initial theatrical release would not find a home at Netflix.
An anonymous talent agent quoted by The Wrap criticized Netflix’s approach to making movies under Lin.
“He had the same problem Scott Stuber had: quality,” the agent said.
“The Netflix business model and the financial structure of their films does not allow for making consistently high quality films.”
Lin gave a run-of-the mill statement in making his exit.
“It’s been a great privilege to lead this incredible team and work with amazing filmmakers and talent to bring their movies to the world,” he said.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos praised Lin’s contributions to the film business, saying, “I’m grateful to Dan for everything he’s done for Netflix films.”
The executive shake-up comes as Netflix faces mounting questions about its ability to keep subscribers glued to their screens despite spending billions on programming.
Average monthly viewing per subscriber fell from roughly 66 hours during the first half of 2023 to 49 hours during the first half of this year, according to Jefferies estimates cited by Reuters.
Meanwhile, Netflix shares have tumbled roughly 40% over the past 12 months, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Despite the turmoil, Netflix reported second-quarter revenue of $12.56 billion, up 13% from a year earlier, with an operating margin of 33.4%.
Rice is set to oversee Netflix’s film division until the streamer names a permanent replacement for Lin.
Rice held senior posts at 21st Century Fox and Disney before getting fired by the House of Mouse in 2022.
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