Sorry, not sorry: Netflix has ordered a pair of seasons of The Apology starring Gwyneth Paltrow from A24, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, Another Round) will direct and executive produce alongside Paltrow, Joe Hipps (through his Cut To banner) and creator/showrunner Joe Murtagh.
“Evelyn and Caleb Amspoker’s son was murdered 18 years ago in a cold case that gripped the nation,” the series’ logline reads. “When a stranger suddenly appears and confesses, justice finally seems possible — until they learn the killer may get off with a reduced sentence. Faced with that unbearable truth, Evelyn and Caleb decide to take matters into their own hands.”
The Apology‘s pickup predates the hiring of Peter Rice, THR is told. Rice, Netflix’s new chief content officer, effectively replaces both Bela Bajaria and Dan Lin. (It was Bajaria who hired Lin in an effort to keep Netflix’s content spend on movies under control.) THR understands that Rice will be in charge of finding new film team leadership.
“It’s been a great privilege to lead this incredible team and work with amazing filmmakers and talent to bring their movies to the world,” Lin said in a statement shared with THR on Monday. “Thank you to Ted (Sarandos), Greg [Peters] and Bela for the opportunity.”
Last week, Netflix laid off roughly six percent of its workforce, or about 1,000 people. It was Netflix’s largest staff reduction in years, and some of the biggest names — like Lin — are still trickling out. TV executives Lisa Lang McMullen, James Oh, Carolina Garcia and Andrew McQuinn were also let go, as were managers Jason Pan, Aaron Davidson and Dan Evans. Netflix’s vice president of film Doug Belgrad was let go as well.
McMullen was most recently director of overall deals and series at Netflix, Oh was director of drama series, Garcia and McQuinn both held the title of director of original series. Pan was manager of original series, Davidson was manager of adult animation comedy, and Evans was manager of original animation.
Netflix reports its third-quarter earnings tomorrow after the market closes.
A24’s first adaptation, Crystal Lake, launched last week on Peacock. Crystal Lake is a Friday the 13th prequel series set at a summer camp.