Netflix CEO Says Disney+ Has No Bridgerton-Style Hits

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Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings says Disney+ has no Bridgerton-style hits up its sleeve. Disney+ debuted at the end of 2019 and saw a record breaking year in 2020 that had the streamer exceeding even its own expectations. At the beginning of December, Disney+ passed over 86 million subscribers. This is thanks, in part, to its robust content library that the studio owns, as well as Star Wars series The Mandalorian, which became a breakout hit for the streamer.

Bridgerton premiered on Netflix over the Christmas holiday, just as The Mandalorian wrapped up season 2. Bridgerton, a series that blends modern-day properties like Gossip Girl with the period drama of novels such as Pride & Prejudice, had a record breaking premiere month, becoming Netflix's fifth-biggest original series launch to date. With a season 2 renewal seemingly imminent, it's possible Bridgerton will air for years to come.

During Netflix's quarterly earnings interview (via Deadline), Hastings praised Disney+'s success in its first year. He went on to say, though, that while Disney+'s performance is impressive, it doesn't have a Bridgerton-style hit. Hastings also said he is looking forward to competing with Disney in the future on multiple fronts, including animation and original content.

It’s super-impressive what Disney has done. It’s incredible execution for an incumbent to pivot … so that’s great. And it shows that members are interested and willing to pay more for more content because they’re hungry for great stories. And Disney does have some great stories. It gets us fired up about increasing our membership, increasing our content budget and it’s going to be great for the world that Disney and Netflix are competing show by show, movie by movie. We’re very fired up about catching them in family animation — maybe eventually passing them, we’ll see, a long way to go just to catch them — and maintaining our lead in general entertainment that’s so stimulating...I don’t think you’re going to see [a Bridgerton] on Disney anytime soon.

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In December, Disney announced a slew of new content for 2021 and the years beyond, much of which will hit the streaming service at some point. Hastings isn't exactly wrong, though. While Disney is fleshing out its original content for its streaming platform, they don't yet have an original series with the broad appeal of Bridgerton. Most of their original content coming to the platform is geared towards a specific audience, whether its children's programming or the numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe shows that will release in 2021 and the years to come.

Netflix is set to have a banner year itself, releasing an original movie each week. The streamer will also debut a slew of new original and returning series. It's very likely Bridgerton season 2 will be among those. As he makes clear, Hastings would be foolish to count out Disney+, though. It may not have a Bridgerton-style crossover hit, but the platform does boast a dedicated fan base that will devour each and every Marvel and Star Wars show released. On top of that, Disney+ will be working on fleshing out other original content. The streamer may not have a Netflix-style hit yet, but it's almost guaranteed that, sometime in the future, it definitely will.