Yesterday, Deadline Hollywood reported that Netflix had outbid some major cable networks for the rights to a new TV series executives produced and directed by David Fincher called House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey. When we say outbid, we mean that they made a serious “Godfather Offer” to the tune of a 26 episode commitment that will probably end up costing over $100 million when all is said and done. HBO and AMC? Pfffft. Keep in mind that this is all without seeing a pilot, too – something almost unheard of in the business.
Netflix has had an office in Beverly Hills for awhile now, so it might make sense for them to be in a position to make such a deal being so close to Hollywood and all. It’s pretty obvious that Netflix is committed to being a serious player in the video content arena. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix’s 20 million subscribers as of 2010 is more than Showtime or Starz, but still has some catching up to do before reaching HBO’s 28 million subscribers. It’s growing much faster, though, with a 63% jump in subscribers from 2009.
I don’t know about you, but if someone told me that David Fincher would be producing and directing a TV series starring Kevin Spacey, I would be in on that show faster than you could finish your sentence. You wouldn’t even have to tell me what it was about. Seriously, look at Fincher’s body of work on IMDB here. There’s not a stinker among those feature films. Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network, the dude has not struck out at all. Obviously I’m not alone either, given the level of interest Netflix and the other networks had in the project not having seen a pilot.
Since Netflix is still in ongoing negotiations on the details of the deal, we’re not sure if the series will be instant streamed or released on DVD or both yet. No matter how Netflix chooses to distribute the series, though, it’s a wonderfully disruptive move that has the potential to take the company beyond simply being a content server. It’s a move that could be considered risky given the unpredictable nature of television shows regardless of content quality, but if one were to take a chance on entering the business, working with one of the elite directors in Hollywood wouldn’t be a bad way of doing it.
I’m not a Netflix subscriber now, but I would give it serious thought to signing up simply on the strength of this deal. What about you? Would House of Cards pique your interest enough to get you on board Netflix?
Oh, and in case you were curious what House of Cards would be about, here’s what Deadline Hollywood summarizes it as:
In his TV directorial debut, Fincher will helm the pilot for House of Cards, which is based on the book and British miniseries of the same name. Fincher is executive producing with Eric Roth, Joshua Donen as well as Spacey and his producing partner at Trigger Street Prods. Dana Brunetti. The political-thriller novel House of Cards, written by Michael Dobbs, a former Conservative Party chief of staff, is set at the end of Margaret Thatcher’s tenure as prime minister and follows a British politician with his eye on the top job. In 1990, it was adapted by the BBC as a miniseries written by Andrew Davies and starring Ian Richardson. Fincher’s adaptation, set in the U.S., was written by playwright-screenwriter Beau Willimon (The Ides of March).
