Netflix Will Not Delay Originals Because Of Coronavirus

While the COVID-19 pandemic is having a massive effect on Hollywood, delaying movie releases or cancelling them altogether, Netflix has revealed this won't affect its release schedule. It's business as usual for the streaming giant when it comes to release dates.

During the Q1 2020 Netflix earnings call, chief content officer Ted Sarandos discussed the 2020 slate of original programming and its release schedule. "The one thing that's maybe not widely understood is we work really far out, relative to the industry because we launch our shows, all episodes, at once, and we're working far out all over the world," Sarandos explained. "So our 2020 slate in films are largely shot and are in post-production, remotely, in locations all over the world.

"We're actually pretty deep into our 2021 slate. We're not anticipating any moving things around. To give you some examples, The Crown is [in its] fourth season, our big fourth quarter animated release, Over the Moon. These are shot productions and in finishing stags right now to release later this year as planned. So we don't anticipate moving the schedule around much, certainly not in 2020."

As for how Netflix releases its content, Sarandos was asked about switching over to a week-by-week release schedule to pad out releases. He explained that while some shows like Love is Blind have done a weekly release, Netflix customers prefer the "all-at-once" model, so the company will not be moving away from that in the future.

When it comes to third party licensing, Netflix is focusing more on its own original content rather than bringing in other movies and TV shows currently. Sarandos said that their slate is very full for this year, and they're looking at all the content being released--like movies originally planned on being released theatrically. However, Netflix seems more geared towards its original content at the moment.

And speaking of things you should be watching, consider listening to GameSpot's weekly TV series and movies-focused podcast, You Should Be Watching. With new episodes premiering every Wednesday, you can watch a video version of the podcast over on GameSpot Universe or listen to audio versions on Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play, and Apple Podcasts.