Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, Netflix, TV | Tagged: daredevil, Jessica Jones

Netflix "Wanted to Make Great" TV; Marvel "Wanted to Make Money"

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos discusses what it was like working with Marvel Television regarding budgets and investing more in the shows.

Well before Showrunner Dario Scardapane and Marvel Television's Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock) and Vincent D'Onofrio (Wilson Fisk/Kingpin)-starring Daredevil: Born Again pretty much hitched its wagon to the Netflix series canon that came before it, fans of the streaming service's Marvel shows were pushing for "The Mouse's" Marvel Studios to embrace what worked and to not reinvent the wheel. Thankfully, the brakes were hit on "Born Again" early enough so that the streaming series could change its creative course. For those who need a refresher, the Netflix/Marvel lineup included Daredevil (2015–2018), Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016–2018), Iron Fist (2017–2018), and The Punisher (2017–2019) – along with 2017's crossover miniseries, The Defenders. The reason why we're bringing this up? Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos reflected back on the streamer's deal with Marvel (back then, the series were produced by EVP Jeph Loeb's Marvel Television – part of the overall Marvel Entertainment banner – and ABC Studios), alluding to a "fistfight" or two over the shows' budgets.

During a profile interview with Variety, Sarandos discussed the streamer's history of investing in original series and films – noting that Netflix's deal with Marvel "was the biggest deal in the history of television." Sarandos continued, "No one will ever touch it. We committed to five original seasons of TV with no pilots – 13 expensive episodes for each show centered around one character. And then a crossover season. Ultimately, we learned a lot about the entertainment business on that deal." From there, Sarandos explained what it was like from the streamer's perspective working with "the old Marvel television regime, which operated independently at Disney" – and, according to Sarandos, were "thrifty" in terms of wanting to invest in the shows. "Every time we wanted to make the shows bigger or better, we had to bang on them. Our incentives were not well aligned. We wanted to make great television; they wanted to make money. I thought we could make money with great television."

Coming out of that experience, Sarandos shared what he and the streaming service learned from the deal with Marvel. "You want to work with people whose incentives are aligned with yours. When people are producing for you, they're trying to produce as cheaply as possible. My incentive is to make it as great as possible. That's a lesson that I take forever. As producers, whatever [Marvel] didn't spend, they kept. So, every time we wanted to add something to the show to make it better, it was a fistfight," the co-CEO added.

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