Netflix is the place to be on the streaming circuit when it comes to the widest variety of original content. The service that was once mostly known for House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black now dabbles in just about every genre, and it has found a great deal of success in many of them. The bad news is that there are just too many originals for most streamers to watch everything. Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos weighed in on how he keeps up with all the originals, saying this:
Not very well sometimes. I have an amazing team. And more than that, an amazing team that's super empowered, that can make those decisions. There was a time when I got to watch every cut and read every draft, and I don't even think -- it's not humanly possible anymore.
Back in the earlier days of Netflix originals, Ted Sarandos was able to stay involved in the development of every project, but that's simply not feasible anymore. His comments to THR reveal that he compensates for the inability to watch everything himself by surrounding himself with an excellent team. Whatever he can't watch and oversee, he has somebody else who can do it, and those members of his team evidently have the freedom to make decisions of their own regarding the future of certain series.
All things considered, it's not all that surprising that Ted Sarandos has to delegate the watching of some shows to others at Netflix. The streaming service already has a ton of streaming projects, including TV shows, stand-up specials, documentaries, and movies. Netflix CFO David Wells revealed back in 2016 that the ultimate goal was for original programming to make up half of Netflix's library in the next couple of years, and Netflix is investing the time and money to keep churning out those originals.
Interestingly, a recent report indicates that licensed content is far more popular with subscribers than originals, although Netflix itself does not release official viewership data for public consumption. Whatever the reality, the odds are that Netflix won't slow its pursuit of new original series moving forward. The streaming service is on the verge of being worth more money than Disney -- yes, Disney -- and that's a pretty big deal. As long as Ted Sarandos surrounds himself with people he trusts to make big decisions for originals, Netflix can remain king of streaming original series.
Ted Sarandos did not reveal which series he does stay on top of in his work as the Netflix head honcho. He can presumably take his pick of what the service has to offer. Who knows? Maybe he's secretly a huge fan of the Marvel shows and was just as excited about Stranger Things Season 2 as the rest of us back in fall 2017. Whatever his favorites are, he has the benefit of early access.
For what you can watch on Netflix now and in the not-too-distant future, check out our 2018 Netflix premiere schedule. If streaming isn't always your style, our summer TV premiere guide can help you out as well.
