Netflix is jumping into the world of current events news, as it has been reported that the streaming service is developing a new show to rival 60 Minutes.
A source close to the situation says that the streaming juggernaut is actively planning a current affairs series that would air weekly and will encompass “both sides of the political divide,” according to CNBC.
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Considering how well Netflix has done with investigative documentaries (i.e. Making a Murderer, The Keepers) it stands to reason that a weekly news series which focuses on real-life events might be enticing to subscribers.
Additionally, Netflix has been trying to crack the “weekly episodes” lifestyle formula for a while now and it seems to be making progress.
Chelsea Handler’s weekly talk show was canceled after only two seasons, but more recent shows like The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman (which technically airs monthly) appear to be being much more successful.
Later this year it will launch new two talk show-style series from both Hasan Minhaj and Michelle Wolf. Both Minhaj and Wolf are stand-ups and veterans of Comedy Central’s The Daily Show.
While many may be excited about Netflix’s potential new series, the company has had some mixed receptions in the press lately, with their CEO Reed Hastings recently coming under fire over his stance on “inclusion riders.”
“We’re not so big on doing everything through agreements,” Hastings said a press meeting. “We’re trying to do things creatively.” USA Today reports that Hastings prefers his staff to work directly with the filmmakers to make sure that productions are all-inclusive and diverse.
“That’s how we look at it,” he added.
Explaining more in-depth what it is, comedian Whitney Cummings previously tweeted, “An inclusion rider is something actors put into their contracts to ensure gender and racial equality in hiring on movies sets. We should support this for a billion reasons, but if you can’t find a reason to, here’s one: it will make movies better.”
Many have been very frustrated with Hastings’ attitude toward inclusion riders, seeming to perceive his comments as flippant, with one person tweeting, “Dont make me cancel you.”
@reedhastings you might want to reconsider inclusion riders. Leaving it up to creative bros to be fair is how we got here.
— Black Lash (@BlacklashAZ) March 7, 2018
“Say it ain’t so Netflix… you all need to get in front of this this is going to look really really bad… diversity don’t hurt it helps,” another wrote.
“Coming from a company with those percentages of mostly white men in positions of power I can understand why [Reed Hastings] said what he did,” someone else quipped.
Taking an opportunity to challenge Hastings on his approach to diversity, one Twitter user responded, “There are a load of reasons why informal discussions could be ineffective in changing the diversity of casting. [Reed Hastings] – if you don’t think inclusion riders are the right answer, you need to come up with something better and *put it in writing*.”
