Peter Rice takes over Netflix content as Bela Bajaria and film chief Dan Lin exit, a shift writers selling to the streamer will have to read closely.
LOS ANGELES, California (Screenplay Biz) – Netflix has swapped out the two executives most responsible for deciding which scripts become its series and films. Chief content officer Bela Bajaria is leaving after a decade at the company, and film chief Dan Lin was pushed out days later, as the streamer cut roughly 1,000 jobs. For screenwriters whose projects sit in Netflix development, the question is no longer only what the streamer wants, but who will be deciding.
Bajaria out, Peter Rice in
TheWrap reported that Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016, ran global content from 2020 and became chief content officer in early 2023 after Cindy Holland’s departure. Her tenure covered Bridgerton, Arcane and Squid Game, plus the move into live sports and wrestling and football partnerships. Puck broke the news of her exit first.
Her replacement is Peter Rice, a former Disney and Fox executive. A German-language report from Serienjunkies says Rice takes charge of all content, from series and films to live events, from the end of October, and notes that he has little direct streaming experience. Netflix gave no official reason for the change. Serienjunkies, citing Variety, reported that some industry figures see Bajaria as a scapegoat for weaker viewing, while a version carried by The Hollywood Reporter India ties the changes to slowing subscriber growth and shifting audience metrics, even though Netflix remains highly profitable.
The numbers behind the shake-up
The leadership change landed alongside layoffs of about 1,000 people, around 6 percent of the workforce. Serienjunkies reported that earlier talk had pointed to roughly 800 jobs, and that the cuts fell mainly on product, technology, legal and human resources staff as well as several series managers. TheWrap added that engagement rose only 2 percent in the first half of the year and that the stock had fallen nearly 40 percent over twelve months.
Netflix reported quarterly results on the Tuesday after the announcements. In NPR’s account, carried by WYPR, co-CEO Greg Peters acknowledged the company’s finances were not where it had hoped and said leadership had to decide where to cut or redirect spending. The same report said the chairman of Netflix Film and six other senior executives had been let go. Netflix pointed investors to the limited series East of Eden and the Brad Pitt film The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth, and to more live sports.
Dan Lin’s film mandate ends
The film division’s change is the one most relevant to feature writers. According to TheWrap’s report on Lin, he was hired in April 2024 to succeed Scott Stuber with a brief to spend less on fewer, better movies. He reorganized the division by genre and leaned into comedies, romantic comedies and book adaptations. He also took a hard line against theatrical-first releases, which reportedly cost him standing with some top-tier talent. The New York Times, as cited by TheWrap, counted roughly 88 films greenlit during his first two years. Lin’s right-hand man, Doug Belgrad, was also let go.
The slate Lin leaves includes The Rip, War Machine, Happy Gilmore 2, People We Meet on Vacation and the Sundance acquisition Train Dreams. Netflix declined to comment on the exits. Lin said it was a great privilege to lead the team. An unnamed talent agent told TheWrap that Lin faced the same quality problem as Stuber and that his successor would too. No successor for the film role had been named in that report.
Who Peter Rice is
TheWrap’s profile notes that Rice built his career at Fox Searchlight, where he worked on Juno, Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways, and produced Slumdog Millionaire with Danny Boyle. He later ran 21st Century Fox and Fox Networks Group, and became chairman of Walt Disney Television before leaving Disney in 2022. His recent producing credits include Saturday Night, Warfare and both recent 28 Years Later films, with Elden Ring and Stephen King’s Fairy Tale in development. The same article lists high-profile departures from Netflix in recent months: David Fincher is leaving his deal in 2027, the Duffer brothers moved to Paramount and Noah Baumbach to Warner Bros.
TheWrap did not address writers’ contracts or guild matters, and no outlet reviewed here reported a formal review of the film or series slate. That gap matters, and it is better stated plainly than filled with guesses.
What it means for working screenwriters (analysis)
Several practical points follow from the reported facts. First, the buyer is changing. Lin’s preference for comedies, romantic comedies and book adaptations shaped what his team bought and developed, and a new content chief with a background in prestige independent film and broadcast may weigh pitches differently. Writers with projects in active development at Netflix should ask their representatives who now owns the project internally, because the executive champion who bought a script is often the person who protects it.
Second, the theatrical question is live. Netflix is moving into theatrical distribution in selected cases, including a full theatrical rollout for Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew before its streaming debut and a short IMAX run for Fincher’s Cliff Booth. For spec writers, that suggests a feature pitched as a big-screen event may find a more receptive audience than it would have under a strictly streaming-only policy, though nothing reported so far confirms a change in the general window policy.
Third, the broader market is tightening. The NPR report quoted Sean McNulty of The Ankler describing unease across Hollywood, pointing to recent Disney layoffs and expected cuts tied to the Paramount and Warner Bros. combination. Fewer large buyers usually means fewer places to take a spec, so writers should keep material in circulation with several buyers rather than waiting on one executive team to settle in.
The reliable lesson from the week is that a development deal is a relationship with people as much as with a company. Writers can protect themselves by documenting where each project stands, keeping drafts current, and having their representatives test the market while the new leadership finds its footing.
Bohiney Magazine, which covers Hollywood and the entertainment business from the comedy side, will no doubt have its own take on the executive shuffle at Bohiney.com.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/