Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos offers his take on traditional multi-cam sitcoms and why he’s still willing to give this style of comedy a chance. The streamer’s boss used The Big Bang Theory as a good example of the comedy format that supposedly still draws people in. Sarandos argues that we all loved sitcoms growing up, and for this reason, he’s still giving multi-cam shows a chance.
The Netflix boss appeared on the podcast “What a Joke with Papa and Fortune,” and he told the hosts about the latest sitcom to follow the trend of comedians having shows named after them. Leanne Morgan is getting a new show on Netflix, which is produced by sitcom guru Chuck Lorre: “So we’re doing that right now, with Leanne Morgan’s got a new one coming with Chuck Lorre… I just watched some of the episodes. It’s really funny.” Sarandos seems to be aware that not all Netflix sitcoms have done great in the past, but even so, the streamer is betting on the format once again. Per Sarandos, they are trying to repeat the success of some iconic multi-cam comedies:
“I think about it like in that advice years ago someone said about programming: what are the things that you loved growing up that are not around anymore, and should you try them again?
“It’s a very cool, kind of rooted storytelling that we’ve been doing since the beginning of time. . . And they’re some of the most valuable things on TV still. You think of The Big Bang Theory and Friends and Seinfeld. And they completely hold up.”
I’m not giving up on the multicam.
Nostalgia is a huge part of why sitcoms are still so popular. But it’s also a matter of good writing and keeping the premise intact. The public’s fascination with sitcoms is visible with older shows and some fan-favorite modern ones that quickly became part of the cultural zeitgeist that was the streaming revolution. Ironically, classic sitcoms are sometimes the most popular shows on these platforms, and they remain untouchable in the libraries where new content is added every day.
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos Also Offered His Take on the Movie Theater vs Streaming Discourse
While on the podcast, Sarandos also spoke about the Netflix movie experience when compared to watching a film on the big screen. Needless to say, his take is a bit controversial, but the Netflix CEO says that it all started when television was created as a substitute for ways you could watch a movie:
“From the beginning of television, attendance to movie theaters began to drop, and it’s dropped every year since the ’60s… And then technology evolves. Behaviors evolve. Consumer behavior changes. I do think there’s something very special about it, but thank God it’s not the only way I can see a movie.
Most people don’t live anywhere near a movie theater. So this idea, and an interesting fact is that the average American consumer sees two movies a year in a movie theater. The average Netflix member watches seven movies a month.”
Television is one thing, but most movies are shot to be projected on a big screen. Except for a few cases, there are probably not a lot of filmmakers who’d prefer their film to be seen on a small screen. Sarandos also talked about this and referred to the inevitable change in the business model:
“I talk to a lot of directors and I totally respect that they, a lot of them grew up and this was their dream, to have the gigantic screen and a room full of strangers. All those things are all… It’s just, it’s a very tough business model anymore. And I just feel like, I hope it is always around as an option. I just think it will be more and more challenging.”
