Netflix Launches Profile-Transfer Feature — Making It Easier for Password Freeloaders to Set Up Their Own Paid Accounts

Netflix is moving forward with its feature film adaptation of the popular Black Samurai novels as it has tapped Chad Stahelski to direct and Leigh Dana Jackson to adapt. Stahelski will also produce along with Jason Spitz and Alex Young for 87Eleven Entertainment as well as John Schoenfelder and Russell Ackerman for Addictive Pictures.

tweeted she gave up her Actors’ Equity card, LuPone clarified that she is not retiring from theater work. “I just gave up my equity card, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t perform on stage,” LuPone told Variety at Netflix’s “The School for Good and Evil” premiere Tuesday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Just over three years ago, Netflix unequivocally shot down the idea that it would ever roll out an ad-supported streaming service. “When you read speculation that we are moving into selling advertising, be confident that this is false,” the streamer said in its second-quarter 2019 investor letter. “We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction.” Clearly, Netflix’s thinking about advertising has changed. Both Netflix and Disney+ are launching ad-based tiers this fall, seeking to broaden their addressable markets and tap into a new revenue stream as subscriber growth has slowed — in Netflix’s case, it lost 1.2 million in the first half of 2022, compared with a net gain of 5.5 million in the prior-year period.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Despite rumors to the contrary, Netflix says it has no plans to stop dropping all episodes of a TV show at once for binge-friendly viewing. “We think our bingeable release model helps drive substantial engagement, especially for newer titles,” Netflix said in its Q3 shareholder letter, as part of announcing quarterly results Tuesday. “This enables viewers to lose themselves in stories they love.” The company’s comments come after the Puck newsletter last month reported that Netflix execs were mulling a change to binge strategy and release major titles on a weekly schedule. Netflix, which pioneered the practice of binge-releasing TV seasons in their entirety, said it’s sticking with that game plan.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After two straight quarters of subscriber losses, Netflix returned to growth in the third quarter of 2022 — and told investors it’s expecting a strong Q4 to finish the year, even though it doesn’t expect big gains right away from the launch of its cheaper, ad-supported plans. The streaming giant reported 2.41 million net new paid subscribers in Q3, including a gain of 100,000 in the U.S./Canada region, to stand at 223.1 million worldwide as of the end of September. That handily topped Netflix’s previous forecast of a 1 million pickup for the period. For Q4, Netflix expects to gain 4.5 million new streaming customers, compared with 8.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. Netflix Basic With Ads is slated to launch in the U.S. on Nov. 3 and priced at $6.99 per month — three dollars less than the regular Basic plan. Similar ad tiers are also coming next month to 11 other countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain and the U.K.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix will no longer share projected subscriber targets in upcoming earnings reports — a closely tracked metric among investors — as the company looks to shift the narrative to its financial performance. Starting with Netflix’s fourth-quarter 2022 earnings report in January 2023, it will not provide guidance for the next quarter (Q1 of 2023). The company will continue to provide guidance for revenue, operating income, operating margin, net income, EPS and fully diluted shares outstanding for the following quarter, but not paid membership. Click here to sign up for Variety’s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial news, and more. “As discussed in previous letters, we are increasingly focused on revenue as our primary top-line metric,” Netflix said in its Q3 shareholder letter. “This will become particularly important heading into 2023 as we develop new revenue streams like advertising and paid sharing, where membership is just one component of our revenue growth.”

In the wake of pushback by victims’ families to Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Kim Goldman is speaking out about TV producers who fail to alert survivors about their true crime TV shows.

Netflix? We’ve got you covered. October brings with it a trio of high-profile new movies coming to Netflix, all of the bone-chilling variety to differing degrees. But if you’re not in the mood for something spooky, there are a number of other excellent films newly streaming on Netflix this month.

Ke Huy Quan has been receiving Oscar buzz for his performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once”, but during a recent visit to the Warner Bros. lot he returned to the scene of one of the most beloved projects from his past when he stopped by the soundstage where “The Goonies” was filmed.

Emily Ratajkowski seemingly answered the question we all want to know: Is she dating Brad Pitt or not?

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After years of Netflix execs spurning the idea of serving up commercials to viewers, the streaming giant is flipping the switch on its first cheaper, ad-supported plan next month. Netflix Basic With Ads will launch in the U.S. on Nov. 3 at 9 a.m. PT, priced at $6.99 per month, the company announced. The cheaper plan will be available in 12 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S. It will first roll out in Canada and Mexico on Nov. 1. Basic With Ads will be $2 cheaper than Netflix’s Basic plan ($9.99/month in the U.S. currently), which provides the ability to stream on one device at a time. Previously, the Basic plan has not supported HD, but with the launch of the ad tier, Netflix will provide video quality of up to 720p HD for both Basic With Ads and the plan with no ads.

UPDATED, 11:45 AM: Netflix has unveiled a new trailer for its YA fantasy pic The School for Good and Evil, directed by Paul Feig (Last Christmas), which is slated for a global release on the streamer on October 19.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix has taken peak TV to a new peak. In a data point sure to fuel more quantity-versus-quality debate, Netflix broke its own record for number of original episodes released in a single quarter — with 1,026 in the third quarter of 2022, according to a tally by Wall Street firm MoffettNathanson. That’s more than five times any other streaming rival: Amazon Prime Video and Hulu released 223 and 194 episodes, respectively, and Disney+ debuted 140 original episodes, per the report. HBO Max, now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, released 114 episodes in the third quarter — significantly fewer episodes than usual and comprising the lightest slate for the service since Q2 2020, the second quarter after launch. WBD has been paring back HBO Max’s content slate in recent months as it looks to cut costs.

An email that Angelina Jolie once sent to Brad Pitt has resurfaced after a TikTok went viral.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix fans continue to flock to binge-watch “Dahmer,” the unsettling drama series starring Evan Peters as the infamous killer cannibal, in record numbers. Ryan Murphy’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” topped Netflix’s English TV Top 10 list for the third week in a row, with 205.33 million hours viewed for the week of Oct. 3-9. That means the limited series is now Netflix’s second most popular English-language series of all time in its initial release, with 701.37 million hours watched, behind only “Stranger Things 4,” which was watched 1.35 billion hours in its first 28 days. “Dahmer” has now garnered more watch-time than seasons 1 and 2 of Shonda Rhimes’ “Bridgerton” in their first four weeks on the service.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix this week is opening the doors on a new retail destination for Angelenos to drop cash on merchandise based on the streamer’s hit shows — as well as get a full-frontal look at “Stranger Things 4” super-baddie Vecna and other characters. The Netflix pop-up shop at The Grove shopping complex in Los Angeles is set to open on Thursday, Oct. 13. Within the 10,000-square-foot space, Netflix’s original entertainment franchises will “come to life through colorful, photo-ready vignettes,” the company said, featuring life-size versions of characters and artifacts including Vecna; the terrifying Young-Hee robotic doll from “Squid Game”; and Queen Charlotte’s throne from the “Bridgerton” prequel.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Any Slingboxes still out there are about to get bricked. Dish Network this week emailed reminders to users of Sling Media’s Slingbox — the once-controversial devices that “place-shift” pay-TV services by streaming live TV over the internet — that the servers that power Slingboxes will be permanently taken offline on Nov. 9, 2022. The Slingbox, which never achieved mass adoption, came out before the ascendancy of video-streaming powerhouses like Netflix and YouTube. But some of the technologies developed by Sling Media have since become widely adopted by the industry.

Brad Pitt has responded to allegations by ex-wife Angelina Jolie of violence and abuse towards her and their children, insisting he is “not going to own anything he didn’t do”. Jolie, 47, has accused the Hollywood actor of pouring wine and beer over their children’s heads and “choking” one during an alleged outburst on a private jet flight from France to Los Angeles. She claims Pitt, 58, pushed her against the wall during a confrontation in the plane’s bathroom, and says the incident ended their marriage.

Brad Pitt will respond to abuse allegations made by his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, in court. In a complaint filed Tuesday in Los Angeles court, Jolie detailed allegations of Pitt's abuse of her and their children. During a September 2016 flight from France to Los Angeles, "Pitt choked one of the children and struck another in the face" and "grabbed Jolie by the head and shook her," according to the latest filing in the exes' vicious legal battle over a French winery they bought in 2008.