Netflix opened its upfront by “getting closer” with Jennifer Lopez and Brett Goldstein. The theme of the streamer’s pitch to advertisers at the Sunset Pier 94 Studios in New York was “Get Closer,” and that was the schtick of bringing out Lopez and Goldstein to share a clip from their upcoming romcom for Netflix, “Office Romance.”
“Netflix brought me closer to my dream of making an old school rom-com with Jennifer Lopez, the queen of romantic comedies. I honestly can’t believe it happened, but here we are talking about it. It’s actually fucking mental,” Goldstein said. Added Lopez: “It was my pleasure, and it felt great to come back to a rom- com. It’s been too long, and this one might be my favorite one I’ve ever done.”
Netflix president of advertising — it still seems so weird to say that, given how ad-allergic the streamer long was — Amy Reinhard then gave the hard pitch to advertisers.
“We have recently shifted to monthly active viewers, and it turns out we have a lot of them, more than 250 million viewers around the world, and we’re not double counting any,” she said. “Over 60% of sign-ups are choosing the ads plan. More than 80% of our ads members are signing in every single week. Our audience is also unique. 44% of people who see an ad on Netflix never see it on broadcast TV or other streamers. In a lot of cases, they’re not even watching other streamers.”
Netflix with Ads also announced that it’s adding commercials to 15 more markets: Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Switzerland and Thailand. They join the ten markets already with ads (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the UK and the U.S.).
Out came chief content officer Bela Bajaria, who noted that both she and Reinhard joined Netflix in 2016 — meaning they’re celebrating their decade anniversary with the company this year. (How has time flown?)
“But the two of us joining wasn’t the biggest thing that happened to Netflix that year,” she said, “Although, to be fair, we could probably debate that, but it was also the year the Netflix turned on in 190 countries in a single day. For the first time ever, people everywhere could watch whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Tune-in was officially replaced by personal choice.”
Bajaria noted that Netflix will release 40 scripted series from the U.S. slate, 27 of which are returning. She then shared a frenzy of programming announcements:
‘Bridgerton’ Season 5 to Launch in 2027
Netflix Orders ‘Barbaric’ TV Adaptation Based on Vault Comic Series
Netflix Will Stream Five NFL Games, Expanding Ties to Pro Football
‘Running Point’ Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix
‘My Life With the Walter Boys’ Scores Early Season 4 Renewal at Netflix
‘Big Mistakes’ Renewed for Season 2, Dan Levy Transitions to First-Look TV Deal at Netflix
Nick Cannon to Show What It’s Like to Raise 12 Kids With Six Moms in New Netflix Docuseries
Ben Stiller, Nicholas Galitzine and Bella Maclean to Star in ‘A Matter of Time’ for Sony and Netflix
‘Grown Ups 3’ Officially in the Works at Netflix With Adam Sandler
‘Calabasas’: Netflix Gives Series Order to Teen Romance Drama From ‘Bridgerton’ Creator and Kim Kardashian
After Bajaria’s announcements, “Stranger Things” star Millie Bobby Brown, now all grown up, came out to discuss “Enola Holmes.”
“I got my first big break playing Eleven when I was 11,” she said. “Netflix is where I grew up, where I learned to act, where I learned to produce, and I’ve had a chance to play some pretty iconic characters along the way: a girl with a shaved head and telekinetic powers, an orphan crossing a robot wasteland to find her family, a detective who outsmarts her famous brother, a princess who battles a dragon. And now I’m just about to star in my first rom-com. Just picture it. It turns out, love is a lot more like the upside down than you think, and this year, I’ll be back as Enola Holmes, headed to Malta, walking into the most dangerous case of her life.”
Then came some line dancing (country music was quite big this upfront), as a group of dancers did a routine to introduce “Hunting Wives” stars Brittany Snow and Malin Akerman. “Season 2 will pick up right where we left you, breathless and begging for more,” Snow said. Added Akerman: “It has everything. Motorcycle gangs, intense shootouts, scandals, secrets — the kind of drama that would make Coyote Joe himself blush.” The duo then showcased a first-look clip from the show’s next season.
After that, Florence Pugh was brought to stage by a live violinist, introducing a first look at her new series “East of Eden.” Said Pugh: “I’ll never forget the first time I read ‘East of Eden.’ Steinbeck’s characters grabbed my heart and burrowed into my soul. So uncompromising, so full of agency and so utterly human. When I first sat down with Zoe Kazan in 2020 we realized that we shared a very specific passion about one character in particular, Cathy Ames. She is the engine in our version of this story, a woman fiercely connected to her life force, driven towards freedom, no matter the cost.”
Netflix Sports’ Elle Duncan came out for an upfront “halftime report” to recap some of the streamer’s sports-related programming and announce the arrival of the Westminster Dog Show.
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Moves to Netflix Starting Next Year Under New Deal
Out came some of the winners from this year’s Best in Show to take a dogwalk in the audience.
A pre-taped Will Ferrell then broke into Duncan’s segment on screen to show a promo from his upcoming golf comedy, “The Hawk.” Duncan wound up her time by announcing that Netflix will stream the FIFA Women’s World Cup from Brazil in 2027.
Out came six members of the legendary World Cup-winning 1999 United States women’s national soccer team to discuss the Netflix’s biographical film “The 99’ers,” about the team.
Said team member Mia Hamm: “I know it’s one of the proudest days of our playing career, and to be able to see it put up on the big screen, to share our story, but also to celebrate how far the game has come to this day, means so much to all of us.”
More ad tech info from Netflix’s vice president of advertising, Nicolle Pangis, followed by a video with “Emily in Paris” cast members promoting more of the Netflix data pitch. Netflix’s Airbnb integration with “Nobody Wants This” and Unilever’s partnership on “Bridgerton” got quite a reaction from the crowd — well, probably the media buyer partners in the crowd who helped facilitate those deals.
Pete Davidson had the highlight of the presentation as he came out and commented on the pre-written lines he was contractually obligated to read — but with a few personal comments.
“How’s everybody doing? Are you guys fucking miserable? This is gonna go terrible. There’s reunions up here, that lady with a nice suit, and now I’m gonna read what has been I’ve been told I’m allowed to say, just pretend like this is organic.
Now, from the teleprompter: “Hi everybody. I’m Pete. For those of you who don’t know me, I’ve been on Netflix a lot lately. I was at the Roast of Kevin Hart. I was part of Netflix as a Joke, and I also played the octopus in ‘Remarkably Bright Creatures.’”
That got some chuckles. Davidson was disappointed. “I actually thought that was gonna do better. I remember they said that to me, ‘do you want to change that joke?’ And I was like, ‘No, that’s gonna fuck super hard at this weird fucking building we’re in.’”
Now some big laughs. Back to the teleprompter: “You might have seen my new podcast, ‘The Pete Davidson Show.’” (An aside: “I know you haven’t.”)
“Actually, it’s a show where I invite my friends to come hang out in my garage, and sometimes they come, and most of them are actually not my friends. But look, if you’re starting to get sick of me, that’s cool — I can’t believe I’m still fucking reading this guys!”
The young cast of “Outer Banks” shared their emotions about their show’s fifth and final season, and then Luanne Morgan from Netflix’s “Luanne” then did a segment in the crowd.
This is starting to feel like an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” with all of these different segments and comedians. Cue “Pop Culture Jeopardy,” with host Colin Jost. Actually, it wasn’t Colin Jost. Michelle Buteau came out to fill in.
“Fun fact, Colin Jost and Michael Che are my parents,” she said. “I am actually here filling in for Colin, happily and aptly to prove that DEI is not D.I.E.”
Among the teams: John Cena and Eric Andre, Hasan Minhaj (by himself), and social media stars Alix and Ashtin Earle. The topics: “Brothers From Another Mother,” “Modern Family,” “The Need for Tweed,” “Dance Dance Revolution,” “Hot Mess’ and “Ad Tech.”
The bit was mostly scripted — but with comedians on stage like the unpredictable Eric Andre, things went a bit off the rails.
Tina Fey and Will Forte came out to promote Season 2 of “The Four Seasons” while literally sitting on an executive in the audience. Then came the other greatest part of the afternoon: Forte giving his own off-key rendition of “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters.”
And then came the final piece of news:
‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Global Concert Tour Set by Netflix and AEG Presents