Ryan Murphy signs with Netflix for up to $300 million. (1 Viewer)

[Wayne_j]

http://deadline.com/2018/02/ryan-murphy-giant-overall-deal-with-netflix-1202287851/

Another mega TV producer is leaving a longtime studio home to head to Netflix. In what is believed to be the biggest TV pact ever, Ryan Murphy, an Emmy, Golden Globe and Peabody Award-winning producer, director and writer, has signed an overall deal with Netflix, which could reach as high as $300 million, sources said. It starts July 1.

Under the five-year agreement, called “the deal of a lifetime for an artist of a lifetime” by one industry insider, Murphy and his Ryan Murphy Productions will produce new series and films exclusively at Netflix. Murphy is moving to Netflix, which also is home of top broadcast drama showrunner Shonda Rhimes, after a long stint at 20th Century Fox TV. He was one of the biggest names on the talent roster of the studio, which is poised to become part of Disney as part of the proposed acquisition, making his departure a blow to the combined entity.

 

[TravisR]

No one is worth $300 million when the model is to release a product that comes out all at once and is then forgotten in a week. And I'm a fan of Ryan Murphy because we seemingly share a similar sick sense of humor (Scream Queens was hilarious and American Horror Story isn't always good but it can still make me laugh) and both seasons of American Crime Story have been legitimately fantastic.

All in all, Netflix paid $300 million for a headline to make it look like they're players in the entertainment field.

 

[Malcolm R]

So this is why my subscription cost keeps going up.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Ryan Murphy is great at launching shows, but not great at sustaining shows. He has quite a few great first seasons, but not too many great second and subsequent seasons.

Astronomical dollar value aside, I think this deal reflects Murphy's unease with Disney's acquisition of most of 21st Century Fox. I wouldn't be surprised to see quite a few major talents with deals at Twentieth Television jump ship to other studios/platforms over the next year.

 

[Wayne_j]

Ryan Murphy is great at launching shows, but not great at sustaining shows. He has quite a few great first seasons, but not too many great second and subsequent seasons.

This is why I'm glad that he seems to be doing more anthology shows lately where he can launch a new show every season.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

No one is worth $300 million when the model is to release a product that comes out all at once and is then forgotten in a week.

I agree. I'm surprised to see Netflix spending so much on individual talent (and even on megabudget made-for-Netflix films like the Will Smith thing), because I just don't see how that can be recouped. Your subscribers pay $10 a month, and they get unlimited content for that price. One Netflix account can be shared by a lot of people, so it's not like a theatrical release where everyone spends $10 or more to see it once. I don't find the Netflix delivery method of everything at once to be satisfactory as a viewer, because it does nothing to sustain my interest, and doesn't allow me the opportunity to really interact with other people about the content. You can't talk about it with people as you watch it because everyone watches at a slightly different pace, and then after it comes out, everyone binges, writes it up in a week, and it's done. It's been refreshing to see things like the recent Twin Peaks revival, or even the new Star Trek Discovery show. I absolutely loved every second of Twin Peaks, and I have mixed feelings on Star Trek Discovery, but I love that we get one episode a week, and have time to think about the characters and the story, to wonder where it will go next, to talk about it with friends and family both "in real life" and on places like HTF. And then, if you happen to like something, instead of it playing out over 15 or 20 or 25 weeks or so, it plays out all in a day, so instead of having to wait a few months for a new season, it's more like a year, or more. When I watch TV, I don't want it to feel like going to a movie once. I want it to feel like a commitment that the showrunners and I make, where I'll welcome these characters and this story into my life, and in return, they'll produce stuff at regular intervals. I don't enjoy the chore of "Here's ten episodes to watch as quickly as possible and you better rush through it because the internet will spoil it all within 48 hours whether or not you go looking." I think it feels different to absorb the material when it's doled out in doses. I think the way we connect with it and absorb it is different. Even if you decide to watch only one a week when they put out all ten at once, it's a very different thing than having no choice but to wait.

Ryan Murphy is great at launching shows, but not great at sustaining shows.

I agree wholeheartedly with that, and I've went from being a bigger fan to someone who has almost completely lost interest with his shows. Despite working in different genres, there is a sameness to a lot of his productions, even in the anthologies that are meant to be different. I burned out on American Horror Story because it really seemed to be the same from year to year. The setting would be different, the type of horror being explored would be different, but then you'd get Sarah Paulson playing the same type of character each time, Jessica Lange playing the same type of character, Evan Peters playing the same type of character, etc., etc., and instead of feeling like a repertory company producing a new and different play each season, it felt like it was the same model car with a slightly different paint color but the same build underneath. And that's sort of how I feel all of his stuff has turned out in recent years.

And I could at least watch the shows because it was something to do on whatever night of the week it would air. But the idea of getting the entire season dumped in my lap at once feels more like a chore than a journey I want to embark on.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

This is why I'm glad that he seems to be doing more anthology shows lately where he can launch a new show every season.

I felt the same way when "American Horror Story" launched. But even there, none of the subsequent seasons have been nearly as good as the first one.

 

[EricSchulz]

I think AHS would have been better if each season was a complete story. I'm not a fan of the "connections" between the seasons as some seem like an afterthought.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Big mistake for Netflix.
Murphy is Highly overrated.

 

[justarandomstan]

I don't see that as a mistake. Honestly, this dude brings in MONEY. In Netflix's case, he will bring in new subs. People think that the model is not sustainable. Really? Are the Netflix shows really forgotten in a week? I don't think so. People tend to talk about shows like OITNB and Strangers Things for months after their release.

Also, with close to 120 million subs and counting, I'm pretty sure that they know what they're doing.

 

[TravisR]

Are the Netflix shows really forgotten in a week? I don't think so. People tend to talk about shows like OITNB and Strangers Things for months after their release.

Yes, the hardcore fans probably do still talk about it but even the average fan around here who watches the whole season in a few days probably hasn't thought about it much since that week. They liked it and will watch when the new season starts but if the show ran on a weekly schedule, they'd have been thinking about and discussing the show for a couple months rather than a couple of days.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Is The Shield still slated to come out on blu-ray? I'll be curious how it looks since it was shot in 16mm, but it was a great series and I never jumped for the DVD set.

 

[TravisR]

Is The Shield still slated to come out on blu-ray? I'll be curious how it looks since it was shot in 16mm, but it was a great series and I never jumped for the DVD set.

Looking at this article- http://www.craveonline.com/entertainment/896343-shield-gets-4k-conversion-blu-ray-release-2017 , it's been about 2 and a half years since it was talked about (and the date they hoped to release it by was a year ago) so I'm not hopeful.

 

[mattCR]

All in all, Netflix paid $300 million for a headline to make it look like they're players in the entertainment field.

Yeah, they don't need to make it look like they are a player; they are a pretty legit player. Academy award nominee this year (Mudbound); series with tons of noms, and one of the largest media budgets in the industry... they don't need to "make it look" like something when it is

I'm not a super fan of this deal; but when you are Netflix, the concept isn't that people binge it forever, it is whether or not they get new signups from it and the fact they control all that media and prevent it from going to any other streaming service... that is what has value to them.

 

[TravisR]

Yeah, they don't need to make it look like they are a player; they are a pretty legit player.

I meant in the sense that they can offer huge deals to talent. As far as I know, they haven't lured any big name producers away from the major studios & broadcast or cable channels with major money like this.

 

[justarandomstan]

I meant in the sense that they can offer huge deals to talent. As far as I know, they haven't lured any big name producers away from the major studios & broadcast or cable channels with major money like this.

Ryan and Shonda are not big name producers? Since when? Chuck Lorre also works with them, his new show The Kominsky Method is going to premiere on the service this year.

 

[TravisR]

Ryan and Shonda are not big name producers? Since when? Chuck Lorre also works with them, his new show The Kominsky Method is going to premiere on the service this year.

I'm talking about Ryan Murphy so I thought it was obvious that I was including him as a big name. And yes, Shonda Rimes and Chuck Lorre are big names but I didn't realize that they had deals at Netflix (which is why I said "as far as I know").

 

[justarandomstan]

I'm talking about Ryan Murphy so I thought it was obvious that I was including him as a big name. And yes, Shonda Rimes and Chuck Lorre are big names but I didn't realize that they had deals at Netflix (which is why I said "as far as I know").

Shonda has an exclusive deal with Netflix for an unspecified number of shows/years. Lorre on the other hand is gonna continue to drink from two fountains at once. Let's see for how long.