Judd Apatow was not happy with Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision last year to license a handful of HBO original series to Netflix. Many shows including Insecure, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under, and Ballers were licensed to the streaming platform. Apatow described this move as scary because Netflix could buy around older shows and stream them to their audience, rather than investing millions on new shows. However, X-Men writer Zack Stentz couldn’t agree with Apatow’s views.
Stentz shared that creatives like Apatow should also think about making money for the people. He pointed out the example of Suits, which gained newfound popularity on Netflix and Peacock last year, raking in money years after its finale premiered.
X-Men Writer Slams Judd Apatow’s Take On Netflix Purchasing Licenses Of Shows
X-Men: First Class writer Zack Stentz, who worked on shows like Fringe and The Flash, couldn’t understand why Judd Apatow was angry about Netflix’s move. He explained on his X thread that Netflix’s ‘new’ licensing model was actually not anything new, but the one that existed for decades until a few years back. Stentz shared that licensing shows to other outlets was a welcome move for a number of reasons.
Making shows and then licensing them to other outlets was a viable and lucrative model for more than 50 years before the tech companies decided to come in and break it. The fact that it's coming back should be a cause for celebration, not alarm. https://t.co/D7ub40AcAn
— Zack Stentz (@MuseZack) March 24, 2024
Stentz shared that he would be happy to receive the residual paychecks if a studio decided to resell his old TV shows to other streamers. He particularly pointed out the case of Suits which made a ton load of money after re-releasing the show on Netflix. Moreover, the show’s success on Netflix spawned a spin-off, Suits: L.A., at NBCUniversal, which goes against Apatow’s point about the potential situation where no new shows are being made.
Stentz also directly addressed Apatow’s fear stating that companies will continue to make shows in the hope of making more money. These streaming companies will make their money from selling ads, subscription fees, or licensing their shows to others. He called it the “fundamental laws of supply & demand & profitability” in the industry. This was largely interrupted in the years 2015 to 2021 when companies were taking huge losses to make their streaming services successful.
The Thor writer further shared that more writers in the industry wanted to become visionaries rather than make people money in the process. He shared another perspective on a writer’s attitude, which he shared, “I write clean pages quickly & can write to the showrunner’s voice & make his or her job easier”. He slammed the writers for relying too much on finding creative satisfaction from the project rather than on making more money.
Judd Apatow Worries About A Lack In Quality Filmmaking
Judd Apatow earlier shared with Variety that the ‘new’ model of Netflix will hinder the studio from indulging in quality filmmaking or taking big risks, like how Universal did with Oppenheimer. Apatow shared that he hated the usage of the word “content” as many of the streamers’ intentions were just eyeball time online. He shared that he wouldn’t be surprised if he found out that P*rnhub bought Paramount+. Apatow shared with Variety:
“And for some of them — not all of them — their intentions are just eyeball time online. I don’t know if they’re obsessed with quality filmmaking in the way other owners of these entities have been in the past. That’s why they started calling it ‘content.’ All of a sudden, they diminished it as much as it possibly could be. I don’t think it would be that weird if you read something in the paper that P*rnhub bought Paramount+.”
Apatow shared that the success of Oppenheimer clearly suggests that people don’t want eyeball content, but movies that challenge them and are original cinematic experiences. While Apatow’s creative takes might be valid, the industry as a whole is in a bit of financial trouble. WBD is recovering from its recent financial losses and the Netflix deals are helping the studio to get back on track.
As Zack Stentz rightly points out, making people money should be one goal that filmmakers prioritize during such difficult times.
