With the Hollywood writers’ strike resolved, the streamers and studios are commissioning and developing new original series again — even if striking actors aren’t available to star in them yet — with Netflix, for one, ready to spend $17 billion in 2024 on content, up from $13 billion in 2023.
So what’s on the dominant streamer’s wish list for new series? Among other targets, it’s looking for its own version of Hulu’s “The Bear,” according to a leaked document from a top Hollywood agency that describes Netflix’s and other platforms’ recent mandates for series themes and characters.
Insider reviewed two such agency documents — which distill reps’ conversations with buyers at streamers, studios, and production companies — from the end of the summer, a few weeks before the Hollywood writers’ strike resolved (actors are still on the picket lines). Several producers, agents, and other dealmakers also weighed in for this story about the content market and what the streamers are looking for. Netflix declined to comment.
In short, broadcast network-type shows that will grab broad viewership are the top priority for Netflix and all its competitors. After embracing limited series in recent years, media companies are more focused on ongoing stories that can keep audiences hooked from season to season.
“Across the board, elevated broadcast is in demand more than it’s ever been,” one top TV agent told Insider. “It’s got to appeal to the entire country, not just the coasts.” Characters should have clear wants and easily digested storylines.
Take “Suits,” the legal drama that came out of USA Network’s “blue sky” programming era, which emphasized optimistic and comedic dramas and produced other hits like ”Burn Notice” and ”Royal Pains.” “Suits,” which starred Meghan Markle and aired on USA from 2011 to 2019, became a ratings and watercooler phenomenon when its first eight seasons began streaming on Netflix in June.
“Look at ‘Suits’ — everybody points to that,” said a producer. “Blue sky, not particularly challenging.”
Viewers can expect fewer new shows, lesser-known stars
Total spending on streaming content was roughly flat at $136.4 billion in 2023 and could shrink in the years ahead as media companies try to make their streamers profitable, MoffettNathanson predicted earlier this year.
The golden age of TV brought viewers a record 600 original scripted series in 2022. Now, insiders expect 350 to 450 shows to be made in 2023. Streamers want series that can be produced for less than $10 million an episode; one source said Fox wants to pay as little as $4 million.
With smaller budgets, producers will have to make do with more interior shots and fewer A-list stars. The writer-showrunner-producer who has experience making 22-episode broadcast shows — on time, on budget — is all the more important now. “Everyone’s talking about the ‘responsible showrunner,'” the TV agent said.
But even in this austerity, media companies still need fresh programming to keep viewers coming back and subscribing to their streamers — especially amid price increases. The average cost of the major ad-free streamers is going up nearly 25% in a year, a Wall Street Journal analysis found.
And as Netflix rebounds from its 2022 correction, adding another 8.8 million subscribers in the third quarter for a total of 247 million worldwide, it’ll continue to have a big lock on what gets made and seen. The company is known for frequently changing its mind about what it’s buying, but its recent mandates are a solid bellwether for most big content buyers.
Netflix wants another ‘Squid Game’ and more true crime, but ‘nothing too political’
Netflix is looking first and foremost to get the most out of the existing overall deals it has with showrunners and producers from Shonda Rhimes to Barack and Michelle Obama, said an agent. But it’s also looking for shows with international appeal to feed its massive global audience, like the Korea-produced “Squid Game” that became a worldwide hit.
When it comes to drama, Netflix execs have told agents they’re looking for an ongoing, contemporary series with a single lead character. According to one of the recent docs, it would like “AMC-esque stuff” that’s male-driven, and a cop or lawyer series. Netflix is also interested in a sci-fi drama (think Apple TV+’s “Severance”) that won’t break the bank. And for its version of Hulu’s “The Bear,” it wants a series set in a fast-paced world, but not a restaurant.
In unscripted and non-fiction programming, per both documents and Insider’s sources, true crime remains a big area of focus for series as well as films. Netflix is interested in well-known crimes (like “Dahmer”), “twisty turny” stories, and scams and scandals — but “nothing too political,” one document reads, citing “Don’t F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer,” which was one of the platform’s top five documentaries for 2019.
According to the document, Netflix is also looking for stories about celebrities (if they’re global enough), history (“but not too History Channel”), “inspirational and relatable” health and wellness, and extreme human conditions, like HBO’s docuseries “The 100 Foot Wave” and Hulu film “The Rescue” about the 2018 Thai cave rescue.
Netflix also wants to build on its success with popular sports docuseries like “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and tennis-centered “Break Point,” a production company exec said. The streamer wants more sports and sports-adjacent series and is keen to uncover more stories about athletes like “Untold: Malice at the Palace,” the platform’s 2021 doc about a brawl at a 2004 NBA game.
In unscripted, it’s also interested in “a humorous take” on parenting, one of the docs notes, and it’s open to UFO stories, hauntings, and paranormal fare. But take note, showrunners: “nothing that leans too advocacy or overly medically focused or explanatory.”
Apple, Amazon also have long wish lists
Netflix’s tech-interloper peers in Hollywood also have the cash and ambition for aggressive development of original series, as well as similar mandates. According to one of the leaked docs, Amazon’s Prime Video is looking for shows it can replicate around the world, like its comedy show “LOL: Last One Laughing” and “Luxe Listings Sydney,” a real estate reality series.
Prime Video, which spent an estimated $10 billion on content in 2023, per MoffettNathanson, has procedurals and YA-aimed shows high on its wish list. It’s also looking for “any kind of doc” that has scale and is “deeply character driven,” per one of the documents. It also notes that Amazon’s free, ad-supported service FreeVee wants to attract young viewers with versions of MTV’s “The Hills” or “Laguna Beach.”
Apple TV+ spent some $7 billion on content this year, per MoffettNathanson, but is looking to grow its content slate with more of the prestige shows it’s known for. Known among Hollywood dealmakers and creatives for “starfuckery,” Apple’s streamer has lately told agents it’s looking for a competition show, sports, and comedy fare.
It’s still willing to pay to attach the right star to a project but won’t break the bank, sources told Insider. And per one of the agency documents, it still wants programming that’s hopeful and noncontroversial — no horror, religion, or characters smoking or doing drugs.
The Silicon Valley giants may be able to match (or outpace) Netflix in spending on content, but the streamer is focusing on the next frontier by looking for shows that have the potential to be extended to other experiences. It’s already developed video games, events, and consumer products to grow revenue and community around popular shows like “Bridgerton.” By 2025 it’s planning to launch a concept called Netflix House, locations where people can shop, dine, and take part in show-related experiences.
“They’re thinking about, how is something more than just a standalone show?” the production company exec said.
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