iWorld
Even amidst a pandemic Netflix’s content slate is full
KOLKATA: Wall Street was busy yesterday discussing one of its most favourite stocks in recent years. While Netflix executives spoke about cashflow, subscribers and competition, what interests the audience more is the upcoming content slate. Although production has halted in major parts of Netflix markets, fans don’t need to worry since the streaming service is not going out of new content for 2020 at least.
What’s new in store?
Other than returning seasons, Netflix is launching a few brand new shows. On 17 July itself, a day after streaming giant announced its q2 results, Cursed premiered. The brand-new series stars Katherine Langford from 13 Reasons Why and reimagines the King Arthur legend. It is also coming up with Project Power, an action movie starring Jamie Foxx.
The platform has a sequel to one of its biggest movies, Kissing Booth 2, the one which led to re-birth of rom-com on the back of Netflix. One of its most global and most successful series, Umbrella Academy’s new season will be dropping in Q3.
Film acquisitions like The Trial of the Chicago 7 from Aaron Sorkin and The Spongebob Movie: Sponge on the Run will also amuse viewers later. Moreover, it has also acquired nearly completed seasons of unreleased original series like Cobra Kai (seasons 1, 2 and a brand new season 3) and Emily in Paris starring Lily Collins.
What the world watched?
Never Have I Ever, a fun, young adult dramedy from Mindy Kaling, broke through with 40 million households in its first four weeks. New comedy Space Force also reached the same number of households.
In original films, 27 million households chose to watch Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, which was celebrated as a “soul stirring film for the ages.” Extraction (starring Chris Hemsworth) and The Wrong Missy, a comedy starring David Spade and Lauren Lapkus, were also big hits with audiences as 99 million and 59 million households, respectively, chose to watch in their first 28 days.
Along with scripted shows, Netflix members have loved non-scripted shows which can be added to the watch list. On the heels of Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle and Floor is Lava are among the latest buzzy unscripted shows.
Wave of protests broke out globally against discrimination following the killing of George Floyd in the US. While a number of people are raising their voices to eradicate white supremacy, they are also turning to anti-racist collection. Some older titles like 13th, American Son and Dear White People – part of its Black Lives Matter Collection saw increased viewing.
Last but the one of most famous shows were La Casa de Papel (aka Money Heist): Part 4, launched on 3 April, was watched in 65 million households through its first 28 days. If a Netflix member has not watched it, it should go straight to his or her watchlist now.
iWorld
Epic Company launches unified Epic Studio for films and OTT
Vivek Krishnani to head films business; Samar Khan leads OTT & Television.
MUMBAI: Epic just merged its creative superheroes under one cape because when films and OTT need to fight for attention together, you don’t keep them in separate universes. The Epic Company has launched Epic Studio, a next-generation creative and production powerhouse that unites Juggernaut Productions and Movieverse Studio under a single banner. The move creates a streamlined, scalable platform for premium storytelling across theatrical films, OTT originals, television, digital-first formats and branded content.
Vivek Krishnani has been appointed chief executive officer, Epic Studio (Films), overseeing the theatrical and film business with a focus on culturally resonant narratives across Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Gujarati and Malayalam cinema. Samar Khan continues as chief executive officer, Epic Studio (OTT & Television) and retains his role as chief content officer for Docubay and Epic On.
The Epic Company managing director Aditya Pittie said, “Epic Studio brings together our entire creative ecosystem under one unified studio vision. This is not just an integration of verticals, but the creation of a collaborative environment where writers, filmmakers, creators, and brand partners can seamlessly develop and scale stories across formats and screens.”
Vivek Krishnani added, “We are building an audience-focused mainstream film studio committed to delivering fresh, engaging, and innovative stories for both theatrical and streaming platforms.”
Samar Khan commented, “This alignment allows us to approach storytelling with a unified studio mindset. We are building IP under one creative umbrella, with scale and longevity in mind from inception.”
The unified structure eliminates silos, enabling ideas to flow fluidly from concept to screen while adapting to evolving audience behaviour. Epic Studio positions itself as a creator-led ecosystem championing purposeful, resonant storytelling with commercial strength.
In an entertainment landscape where stories now leap between screens faster than plot twists, Epic isn’t just building a studio, it’s crafting a single launchpad where every tale gets the best shot at soaring across every platform.
