Here is one sign that Hollywood is getting back to business as usual as the fires go out around LA: Netflix held their 2025 yearly preview at the Egyptian Theater yesterday. They had some stars on hand, like John Mulaney, whose Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney talk series launches on March 12, and Ben Affleck, who introduced a new film, Rip, which is from writer-director Joe Carnahan and co-stars Affleck, Matt Damon, and Kyle Chandler. Tina Fey was also there to introduce The Four Season, a series adaptation of Alan Alda’s 1981 film, and the Duffer Brothers appeared to hype the fifth and final season of Stranger Things.
There was also a trailer for a new comedy series starring Kate Hudson as the unlikely president of a professional basketball team that looks like Succession and Any Given Sunday had a baby with Space Jam. Whatever, we’re all going to end up watching this not least because Jay Ellis looks wildly hot in it.
Other news includes the premiere date of the third and final season of Squid Game—June 27—though it already feels like season two didn’t have the same impact as the first season, a common problem for Netflix series. They also confirmed Wednesday will return “later this year”, as will the final season of Stranger Things.
On the movie side, they announced Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man will be out this fall, and they provided a first-look image of Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc and Josh O’Connor in an unnamed role. Benoit is sporting long hair. I have mixed feelings.
Fall is going to be super busy for Netflix, with new films from Noah Baumbach (Jay Kelly, starring George Clooney), Guillermo Del Toro (Frankenstein), and an untitled film from Kathryn Bigelow. This summer, they will FINALLY release The Old Guard 2 on July 2, and The Electric State is coming on March 14.
…I am not at all confident that wonderful graphic novel is going to translate into film.
Notably MISSING from the yearly announcements is the premiere of the fourth season of Bridgerton. We were told to expect a two-year wait, though, and filming is supposed to wrap this spring, so it’s not likely we’ll see it till 2026. Ugh. That’s so long. Time isn’t real.
In recent years, Netflix has met with something of a reality check, though their stock has more than rebounded from their 2022 free-fall. One thing I notice, though, about this yearly slate—which is not complete, there will be more things—is there seems to be, especially on the film side, a slightly more concentrated effort to create not-garbage. It’s not just chasing auteurs to gild the lily, it actually feels like they’re trying to repair the reputation they’ve gained for churning out an endless sea of sh-t people barely watch while doing laundry.
I have no problem with a movie studio that wants to make high and low entertainment—a healthy balance sheet requires both—but Netflix’s “grey glop” reputation seems to have finally gotten to them, and it looks like there’s some quality control in place. Like The Electric State looks questionable from a story standpoint, but at least the colors pop and the production design is cool. It isn’t gray glop. Is it finally happening? Is Netflix trying to make engaging films after all?
