Fear and hatred are running high as Hollywood deals with Bela Bajaria’s shock firing from her role as Netflix’s chief content officer on Thursday.
Yes, the company that popularized the “Keeper Test” is known for its abrupt exits. But despite Netflix’s recent stock woes, many considered Bajaria too big to fail.
News of his ouster leaked before the executive had a chance to address most of his internal teams – an announcement that dovetails with the announcement of his new replacement, revered film and television executive Peter Rice. As the former general chairman of entertainment for the Walt Disney Company, Rice’s bona fides are clear — “I wish I had bought some stock this morning,” one top talent rep said of Netflix’s new hire — but that doesn’t explain how Bajaria fell from grace so quickly.
One word came up this afternoon in nearly a dozen conversations with industry players about Bajaria’s slip-up: “scapegoat.”
Netflix is evidently on the ropes again, after slowing user engagement on the service rattled Wall Street investors and layoffs came this week as a sacrifice for the stock price. But Bajaria’s dismissal makes it clear, according to the numerous sources we spoke with, that Content is going to take him on the chin once again.
“People always blame the content,” the source said, “but you don’t lay off 1,000 people unless there’s a big problem with the business model.”
Bajaria’s exit echoes similarly shocking removals in Netflix’s history — including that of Cindy Holland, the company’s first content queen who oversaw blockbuster hits like “House of Cards,” “Stranger Things” and “The Crown.” The Netherlands was ousted in 2020, when Sarandos combined English and international content under Bajaria (elevating the latter to the largest standalone content job in the streamer’s history).
Holland, an insider with knowledge of Netflix observed that Varietyhas built a successful boutique business. Bajaria’s foresight has been sharper, investing in local-language productions and strengthening Netflix’s global presence (nearly two dozen international offices have been opened during Bajaria’s reign). He is also internally credited with pushing the streamer into live entertainment. Bajaria was on the “ground floor” of licensing deals with WWE and the NFL, which proved to be big draws to Netflix’s ad-supported subscriber base, according to the source. His relationships with talent were on par with others at his level (Bajaria was omnipresent at film and TV premieres and launches, most recently alongside Sarandos at the Los Angeles premiere of Ben Affleck’s “Animals”).
“The problem isn’t engagement,” said another person with knowledge of Netflix. “The only lever to use to increase revenue is to increase the price of the subscription. Why is this Bela’s problem? Where are the CFO and the CEO?”
Interestingly, we learn that Rice came into play only a few weeks ago when he reportedly interviewed Skydance co-CEO Ynon Kreiz for a leadership position at this newly merged company. The lunch meeting, a source close to the men said, was called so Kreiz could request that Rice replace him on the board of his former company Mattel. Regardless, he alerted the city that Rice had finished semi-retirement (a production deal with A24) and was ready to return to a big job. Another hot rumor Thursday was that Rice also recently met with NBCUniversal about a story there. A source close to NBCU said there was no job on the line for Rice under Donna Langley, so it’s unclear why he would have met. An NBCUniversal spokesperson had no comment.
Another lunch could have had consequences for Bajaria’s departure. Earlier this year, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos was spotted breaking bread with HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys. Was Sarandos courting Bloys for a high-level position at the streamer, perhaps to take the position then held by Bajaria? Soon, the spin machine reframed the meeting as a friendly gathering, implying that it was an argument for Bloys to sign a production deal under Bajaria if he didn’t want to find a way to work in the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger. At a Bloomberg conference last week, Sarandos downplayed the meeting: “He’s a good guy,” he said of Bloys. “For some reason we had a very publicized lunch.”
Maybe. But looking back, now that Sarandos has taken down Bajaria after 10 years, is lunch really just a meal? Rice’s recent focus has been leading ceremonies and content for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games – but Rice is now focused on a more pressing task. The executive has been on the open market in the years since his firing at Disney. He is considered the rare executive who has spent time running both major film and television companies. So the position of chief content officer at Netflix, where he will oversee both, makes sense. He is also well liked and respected since the time he was 20 years old.th Century Fox, head of Fox Searchlight and later the Fox network, eventually becoming chairman of the parent company 21st Century Fox before the Disney acquisition.
“Surprise” was also a common refrain both inside and outside of Netflix on Thursday about the turn of events. But some clues had already been given: Netflix is expected to release its third-quarter results next Tuesday, so such a decision would have to be made beforehand. And with co-CEOs Sarandos and Greg Peters going nowhere, the next sacrificial lamb was Bajaria. Observers speculated that the third-quarter results would likely be extremely disappointing for the streamer, which is already facing tough headwinds.
At that same Screentime event, anyone reading between the lines could have guessed that Sarandos was getting nervous about Netflix’s current low-growth status. In particular, he was asked about Netflix’s slower growth (2% year-over-year growth in user engagement during the first half of 2026). “Yes, overall our growth is not as rapid as I would like, and we are working to accelerate that,” he said. It turns out that Bajaria’s departure was part of that change. Now, all eyes are turning to Rice’s plans for Netflix, and wondering whether those projects will include some of Bajaria’s lieutenants, such as Jinny Howe, head of scripted series in the U.S. and Canada, and Dan Lin, the film’s director.
Bajaria may have also hit the ice with Sarandos after the streamer won just 16 Primetime Emmy Awards this year — its worst showing since 2016 and down from 2025’s 30. That’s quite a turnaround from 2021, where it tied the record for the most Emmys won by a media outlet in a single year, with 44.
Along with the Emmy crisis, Netflix hasn’t presented a cultural hit in the vein of “Stranger Things” in quite some time. But it still features some of the most-watched shows of the year, including “His & Hers” and season 4 of “Bridgerton.” Bajaria is known for her creative acumen, honed over years at places like CBS and NBCUniversal (where she eventually led Universal TV before joining Netflix in 2016).
“During his decade at Netflix, Bela’s impact was undeniable: attracting new talent, hosting sports, concerts and live events, driving the company’s global expansion and entering new areas of entertainment,” said Richard Weitz, co-chairman of WME. Variety. “Her relationships with talent are an integral part of Netflix’s relationships with A talent across the platform. Simply put, she has been transformational and I know she will miss her global team and the talent who have worked with her.”
Rice won’t inherit a busload of happy campers. He will have to galvanize a team which lost a large number of leaders on Wednesday following pink fouls; On the TV side, that included Carolina Garcia, who was fired as original series director after a decade with the streamer, as well as head of programming Andy Kubitz, Lisa Lang McMullen (director, overall deals, series), Andrew McQuinn (director, original series), James Oh (director, original drama series), and Jason Pan (head, original series creative development).
The remaining film group appears safe for now, as Lin’s team saw a major sacrifice in VP Doug Belgrade earlier this week. Morale will need to be improved, budgets adjusted and a multitude of new lunches will be scheduled. What you can count on, according to one streaming insider, is that “eventually, everyone’s time comes to Netflix.”
Gn entert
