Netflix Co-Chief Ted Sarandos Says WWE Deal Is “Right In The Sweet Spot” Of Emerging “Drama Of Sport” Strategy

Selome Hailu Adam Sandler has set a new comedy special at Netflix — this time directed by Josh Safdie. The project continues Sandler’s string of collaborations with Safie, who co-directed him in 2019’s “Uncut Gems” alongside his brother Benny Safdie.

Could Super Bowl LVIII be the most-watched ever?

Sofia Vergara fans have all made the same demand after watching her new Netflix series, Griselda. The six-parter sees the Colombian actress transform into fearsome drug boss Griselda Blanco.

Taylor Swift is celebrating Travis Kelce‘s 2024 Super Bowl run with the Kansas City Chiefs!

Anna Tingley If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. The day has arrived: Today, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will take on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens for a spot in Super Bowl LVIII. The Baltimore Ravens go head to head with the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game, which kicks off at 3 p.m.

Jordan Moreau “Pokémon” fans have a new dream vacation spot: the tropical island resort in Netflix‘s “Pokémon Concierge.” The stop-motion animation series could be the most adorable show Netflix has ever made. Each Pokémon is meticulously crafted with fuzzy fur, smooth scales and friendly features that make you want to scoop them up and give them a hug.

Ellise Shafer John Cena is in full support of WWE’s recent pact with Netflix to stream “Monday Night Raw” on the platform starting in 2025. At the world premiere of his new movie “Argylle” in London, Cena told Variety that the deal is “good for everybody” and congratulated fellow wrestler Dwayne Johnson — with whom he feuded in the 2010s — on joining the board of WWE parent TKO. “That’s great for WWE, that’s obviously great for TKO.

While the “Kick-Ass” film franchise has never been a massive blockbuster franchise, it does have a devoted fanbase, especially with those folks who love hard-R superhero stories. And while we knew that Matthew Vaughn and his production company have been working on a new ‘Kick-Ass’ film, we haven’t heard much about what it was going to be.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos was asked by an analyst on today’s Q4 earnings call if “the recent management departure” would impact the streamer’s future plans for making original feature films.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix is not going to change up its movie strategy in the wake of the exit of film chairman Scott Stuber, according to co-CEO Ted Sarandos. Sarandos did not directly address Stuber’s departure, news of which came out Monday. But, asked on the streamer’s fourth-quarter 2023 earnings interview about whether “recent management departures” might signal a shift away from original movies, Sarandos replied, “We do not plan to change our strategy or the mix [of licensed and original films].

Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters says the company once contemplated an advertising strategy similar to the one used by Amazon, which starting this month is making subscribers pay extra in order to avoid ads.

Netflix has had a big twelve months when it comes to licensed content.

Endeavor’s publicly traded TKO Group has named Dwayne Johnson to its board of directors, effective today. The WWE superstar has also secured full ownership of the trademarked name The Rock.

EXCLUSIVE: There’s a famous line from the Spanish poet Antonio Machado that is familiar to most Spaniards: “Caminante, no hay camino. Se hace camino al andar,” which translates as “Traveler, there is no path. The path is made by walking.” 

Netflix‘s film chief Scott Stuber is leaving the streamer to start a new production company. The exec will stay at Netflix through the middle of March, after which chief content officer Bela Bajaria will find his replacement, according to those familiar with the situation. Stuber has secured financing for this new endeavor, which will focus on making TV shows and movies, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the news of Stuber’s departure.

Coronation Street star Cait Fitton was among those sharing messages for co-star Liam McCheyne on his birthday. The actor, who is known for playing Dylan Wilson in the ITV soap, turned 17 over the weekend alongside his twin, Connor.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Dan Ojari and Mikey Please, the co-writers and co-directors of Aardman Animations’ musical film “Robin Robin,” which premiered on Netflix in November 2021, and was nominated for an Oscar the following year, say that a spinoff is in the cards. “We are currently working on more stories in the world of ‘Robin, Robin,’” Please tells Variety. “I think that’s all we’re allowed to say.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Saoirse Ronan was knee-deep in lamb goo on the first day of filming “The Outrun,” a searing look at addiction that premiered on Friday at the Sundance Film Festival. Adapted from Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir, “The Outrun” centers on Rona, a recovering alcoholic who returns home to the Orkney Islands in Scotland after spending a hard-living decade in London. Eager to escape the temptations of her former life, she helps out on her father’s sheep farm, where she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty.

Guy Lodge Film Critic If zombies weren’t so fixated on eating our brains, perhaps they’d be poignant to have around: semi-living, semi-breathing semblances of people we’ve loved, there to be seen and held and talked to, not truly present but not absent either. Whether that’s preferable to the void of death is the question underpinning “Handling the Undead” for much of its running time, even as the threat of the undead reverting to their usual habits gives this soft, sorrowful bereavement drama a core of cold-blooded horror.

The thriller premiered its first season in December 2022 and was renewed for another season in early 2023.