Netflix is going back to basics – plans to "strengthen" hit TV and movie library to win back viewers

According to some, Netflix has lost its way over the last few years. Where it was once the king of video streaming, rivals have sprung up to offer higher-rated TV series and movies.

Apple TV has become synonymous with some of the most popular and highly regarded TV shows of today, such as Slow Horses, Ted Lasso, Silo, and Dark Matter. While HBO Max continues to cement its reputation for water-cooler programming with the likes of House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, Lanterns, and War.

Netflix viewers on the other hand have been faced with thousands of hours of murder documentaries and imported shows from other stations and services. This from a platform that brought us Squid Game, Tiger King, Stranger Things, and The Crown.

That's not to say it doesn't continue to add Netflix Originals worth watching, but it's been a while since any of them have become a trend or buzz. And they tend to be surrounded on the homepage by games and podcasts.

But that has not gone unnoticed. As the industry waits to see what emerges from the Paramount+ and HBO Max merger, Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos has suggested that the streamer is set to go back to basics. He wants it to "strengthen its core TV and movie offerings", according to the WSJ.

The company has already taken action. Content chief Bela Bajaria and the head of film, Dan Lin, have each departed Netflix in the last week. They joined around 1,000 other employees who have been laid off recently.

A new executive, Peter Rice (formerly of Disney and Fox), has stepped in and $20 billion has been budgeted for new scripted and un-scripted programming.

The WSJ suggests that Rice's biggest task will be to rediscover the spark that made the service so essential just a few years ago. Hopefully, that means we'll be getting a wave of exciting new TV series and films in the coming years – and fewer external acquisitions made just to bulk out the library.