A group of former and current Netflix executives is dissatisfied with the company’s direction under co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Deadline reports. They have not taken direct action against him, but are waiting for events — or a possible intervention — to prompt a significant shift in his priorities.
The dissenters are split. One group is concerned about the declining stock and its effect on the company and their own finances. The other believes Netflix has moved away from its performance-driven workplace culture and become “just another studio,” where internal politics and alignment with Sarandos’ content preferences matter for success.
Netflix shares are down more than 45% from a year ago. They closed at $62.10 on October 30, their lowest level since August 2024, and ended Tuesday’s trading at $63.26.
The company is nevertheless described as financially strong in the report, with almost no debt, a 31% operating margin, and industry-leading scale and churn rates. One source told Deadline that last month’s leadership and structural changes were intended to steady the business, not lift the stock.
Some dissenters have discussed finding an influential figure who could persuade Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings that the company needs a change at the top. Deadline says the idea is still at a preliminary stage and that the former executives mentioned as possible messengers have not formally joined the opposition.
A source close to the company told Deadline that Sarandos, Greg Peters and Hastings maintain a strong relationship, and said there are no plans for Hastings to return to Netflix. Neither Netflix nor Hastings responded to the publication’s requests for comment.
