Netflix Scales Down Animation Department Following Subscriber Dip

gamerant.com:

The Netflix animation department has become the innocent bystander affected by the platform's recent subscription drop in the last quarter. The department is undergoing profound changes due to decreasing subscriptions, including hefty firings and the cancellations of current and upcoming notable series on the platform.

The news of the changes in the department emerged around the same time the quarterly earnings report for the Netflix streaming platform surfaced. Netflix saw its stock plunge more than 30% after highlighting the loss of 200,000 subscribers, which was the first time the platform had seen such a decrease in over a decade. The streamer is looking to reverse the steep decline by cracking down on account sharing, but other pieces aren't helping the streamer function as it envisions.

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The Wrap reported that Phil Rynda, Netflix's Director of Creative Leadership and Development for Original Animation, was fired along with several staff members in the department. Along with the firings, the department is seeing the cancellation of notable Netflix shows, including Lauren Faust's Toil and Trouble,Roald Dahl's The Twits,and the heavily delayed adaptation of Jeff Smith's comic book series Bone. The department was once a place for emerging talent and creativity to bloom, but things have shifted to a more data-driven approach, which has prompted the sudden departmental shift.

One producer, whose show failed to receive renewal by the platform, indicated to The Wrap that there was a shift in the platform's mission. What was once the place of everyone's favorite show altered to focus on what audiences wanted to see, making the numbers far more critical than creativity.