Yet Another Netflix Stunner: Dan Lin Out as Film Chief — SkimNews
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- Dan Lin was let go from his role as Netflix's head of film after less than three years on the job, with Variety reporting the termination came at the start of the weekend and Lin set to address his teams Monday.
- The exit caps a week of bloodletting that already saw chief content officer Bela Bajaria ousted and roughly 1,000 Netflix employees laid off, including Lin's team members Doug Belgrad and indie film head Sheroum Kim.
- Peter Rice has been tapped to replace Bajaria, while ousted Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy are rumored contenders for Lin's vacated seat; no successor has been named.
- Having joined Netflix in February 2024 from his Rideback production house (which built the LEGO, It, and Sherlock Holmes franchises), Lin greenlit or acquired over 85 films during his tenure, including "Emilia Pérez," "Train Dreams," and the upcoming Greta Gerwig "Narnia."
- Netflix shifted toward theatrical under Lin, reporting box office data for "La Bola Negra" for the first time in company history — a warmup to Gerwig's "Narnia" receiving a wide theatrical exclusive window before streaming.
- Compared to predecessor Scott Stuber, Lin tilted toward commercial fare over auteur-driven projects and reorganized the film team by genre, with each executive responsible for 3-4 films a year in distinct categories.
Why it matters: Two senior content leaders (Bajaria and Lin) out within a single week, combined with 1,000 layoffs, marks Netflix's most aggressive content-side restructuring in years — a clear pivot away from Stuber-era prestige positioning toward theatrical-friendly commercial bets like Narnia as the streamer tries to claw back viewing hours from YouTube.
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