EXCLUSIVE: The aftershocks from the big Thursday shakeup at Netflix that saw Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria being replaced by Peter Rice continued over the weekend, with Head of Film Dan Lin also let go. In contrast, Head of U.S. and Canada scripted series Jinny Howe made a big statement over the weekend with a two-season straight-to-series order to The Apology, a thriller drama from A24 & studio-based Cut To, starring Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare In Love) in her first major TV role and directed by Oscar winner Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round) in his U.S. television directing debut.
Netflix bought the competitive project preemptively, Deadline has learned. The streamer declined comment.
There is a symbolic full-circle timing in the pickup. Netflix announced itself as an original programming player with its two-season straight-to-series order to House of Cards, starring another Oscar winner, Kevin Spacey, in 2011. Fifteen years later, the streamer is looking to reestablish its dominance amid Wall Street concerns over slowing engagement growth and coming off a tough week marked with layoffs of some 1,000 people and Bajaria’s ouster.
I hear Rice, who officially started today, has spoken with Howe, who is believed to be safe in her job, at least for now. Given the size of the commitment for The Apology, he likely was consulted on it though sources close to the matter indicate he was not involved in the process.
The Apology, written by Murtagh, follows Evelyn (Paltrow) and Caleb Amspoker whose son was murdered 18 years ago in a cold case that gripped the nation. 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.
Executive producing are Hipps for Cut To, Murtagh, who serves as showrunner, Vinterberg and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Hipps’ A24-based Cut To which has emerged as one of the top sellers of big packages with A-list talent attached. Since the company’s launch two years ago, Hipps has landed four straight-to-series orders for A24, Discretion, starring Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning, at Paramount+, Trigger Point, headlined by Joel Edgerton, at Netflix, and an espionage thriller starring Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour from Adolescence co-creator Jack Thorne, also at Netflix.
This marks Paltrow’s first series regular role. She previously did a recurring arc on Fox’s Glee. On the feature side, she recently starred in Marty Supreme. British TV writer Joe Murtagh created the 2023 The Woman In the Wall.
A24’s upcoming TV slate includes Hulu’s The Spot, Peacock crime drama Superfakes and Paramount+ legal thriller Discretion. A24 also is behind Crystal Lake, which launched on Peacock October 15 and hit #1 on the platform, and Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s film You Can See Everything, which opened strong at the box office this past weekend with $15M. The studio also announced a new Jesse Eisenberg series, written, executive produced and to be directed by Eisenberg, which is expected to be taken out in the coming weeks. It is executive produced by former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice, who was just named Chief Content Officer for Netflix, under his A24 deal.