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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.

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Rebel Moon — Part Two: The Scargiver’s first trailer is even busier than its title.

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 2024 Vergecast streaming draft

What are the good streaming services? Why does Alex Cranz think Netflix is going to go away? What is Mubi, anyway? All the big questions on this episode of The Vergecast.

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3 Body Problem’s final trailer is a prelude to war.

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.


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Netflix’s Ripley looks downright stunning.

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.


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A new Netflix show looks Cronenberg’s The Fly, but with a chicken nugget.

And, I suppose, without all the body horror.

Chicken Nuggets 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.


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Netflix says no to more Michelle Yeoh.

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.


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Netflix’s Ultraman: Rising debuts June 14th.

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.


Verizon is bundling Netflix with AMC Plus now, too.

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.


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In 2023, everyone was shopping around on streaming services.

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.


A graph showing streaming service growth over four years, from 2019 to 2023.
Growth, yes, but also churn.
Image: Antenna
AT&T tried to get Game of Thrones to Go 90.

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.”


Three men seated on a bench, the one in the center is smilin directly at the camera as the other two look elsewhere.
D.B. Weiss (left) and David Benioff (center) with former “True Blood” writer Alexander Woo (right).
Image: Chantal Anderson for WSJ. Magazine

For Netflix’s live-action Avatar to work, Zuko had to find his heart a little faster

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.

Avatar: The Last Airbender is everything that’s disappointing about Netflix’s live-action cartoon shows

Netflix’s live-action Avatar has its heart in the right place, but its pacing and uneven performances leave a lot to be desired.

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The final trailer for Netflix’s live-action Avatar is a VFX bonanza.

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.


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Your next Pokémon vacation is on the way.

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.


Nielsen stats show YouTube and Netflix dominating US TV streaming.

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.


Image: Nielsen
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Here’s a full-length Netflix movie on YouTube.

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!


The Umbrella Academy’s fourth and final season drops on August 8th.

We’re still a few months out from the premiere of The Umbrella Academy ‘s fourth and final season, but we now know that the show’s due back on August 8th thanks to this set of style-focused posters from Netflix.


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How to slay your dragon.

The latest trailer for Netflix’s Damsel has dangerous dragons, elaborate fantasy costumes, and Millie Bobby Brown getting tossed off a bridge. Which is to say: it looks like a blast. And the movie starts streaming pretty soon, hitting Netflix on March 8th.


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Netflix teases us with 48 seconds of F1: Drive to Survive.

Season six of Netflix’s Formula 1 docuseries (that all of the others are trying to copy) arrives on February 23rd, ready to recap last season’s action (and inevitable ending) that set up the offseason madness racing fans are currently dealing with.

We’ll see if it has any hints about Lewis Hamilton’s upcoming Ferrari switch, Guenther Steiner’s exit from Haas, or whatever is being investigated about Christian Horner. In the meantime, has anyone watched the NASCAR attempt, Full Speed?


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Netflix’s next sports docuseries follows the Boston Red Sox.

The streamer is planning to debut a new docuseries in 2025 that features “unprecedented access to Red Sox players, coaches, and executives” during the 2024 season. Later this year, Netflix will also release a documentary about the Red Sox’s 2004 season, which led to the team’s historic World Series win.


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Netflix continues to build out its 2024 lineup.

The streamer has been slowly revealing its slate of streaming TV and films, and now the focus is on Koreaa market where Netflix is investing quite a bit. Among this year’s Korean originals are new seasons of Squid Game, Sweet Home, and Hellbound; the historical drama Uprising, co-written by Oldboy’s Park Chan-wook; and a reality show where influencers compete “to find the one true content creator who generates the biggest buzz — by any means necessary.”


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Netflix says “everybody” thought shelving Halle Berry’s Mothership was a good idea.

From a distance, Netflix’s last-minute decision to cancel the release of executive producer Halle Berry’s nearly-completed sci-fi flick The Mothership has looked a lot like the streamer following in Warner Bros. Discovery’s footsteps.

But according to Netflix’s chief content officer Bela Bejaria, between production delays, and creative issues “everybody just felt like it was the right thing to not do it.”


A brief taste of Squid Game season 2.

Netflix just revealed its upcoming slate for both TV shows and movies, and arguably the biggest reveal was that season two of Squid Game would premiere later in 2024. As part of the announcement, we got a handful of images from the new season — though there are still no real details on what the story will entail.


A still photo from Netflix’s Squid Game season 2.

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Reed Hastings donates $1.1 billion of his Netflix shares to charity.

The co-founder donated two million shares (about 40 percent of his direct holdings) to Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The Wall Street Journal notes that the charity is popular with tech founders with over $10 billion in assets at the close of 2022. Donors see an immediate tax benefit (like avoiding payment of capital-gains tax) but funds can ultimately “sit for years” before being distributed.


Netflix is different now — and there’s no going back

The past two years have been a whirlwind of changes at Netflix — and it’s all to transform the company into a revenue-driving machine that outlives other streamers.

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Netflix told the SEC that generative AI is a risk to its business.

In what Variety called an otherwise business-as-usual annual 10-K report to the SEC, Netflix wrote that it “could be adversely impacted” if its competitors use generative AI to gain an edge.

The company also claimed that using AI-generated material could leave it more exposed to litigation over intellectual property, given the open questions around copyright law and AI.