It looks like these Netflix cuts and discounts aren’t over yet.
Netflix head of film Dan Lin has been let go after less than three years at the streamer, a source with knowledge of his departure told IndieWire. Lin is the latest big name removed, joining the firing of content chief Bela Bajaria last week and a series of large-scale layoffs that have so far affected about 1,000 Netflix employees. The layoffs also affected high-ranking members of Lin’s team, including Doug Belgrad and independent film executive Sheroum Kim.
Variety adds via multiple sources that Lin was fired earlier this weekend and will speak to his teams throughout the day Monday. It’s unclear who will replace Lin, and rumors abound that ousted Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy could be in the running, but Netflix is clearly in the midst of a major restructuring that goes beyond layoffs. Famed film and television executive Peter Rice has already been hired to replace Bajaria.
“It has been a great privilege to lead this incredible team and work with incredible filmmakers and talent to bring their films to the world. Thank you to Ted, Greg and Bela for this opportunity,” Lin said in a brief statement.
“I started working with Dan long before he joined us in 2024 and his strength as a producer has always been evident,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a statement. “Once he joined Netflix, I saw first-hand how his dedication to making quality films, his thoroughness in negotiations and strategy, and his collaborative spirit improved our film business. I am grateful to Dan for everything he has done for Netflix films.”
Lin joined Netflix in February 2024, replacing longtime film executive Scott Stuber. He came from his own production house, Rideback, which built the “LEGO” film franchise, the popular Stephen King “It” adaptations and the “Sherlock Holmes” films. During his time at the streamer, Lin has acquired more than 85 films, including “Apex,” “Emilia Pérez” and “Train Dreams,” as well as upcoming titles “The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth” and Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew.”
As IndieWire noted earlier this year, “one of Lin’s hallmarks since taking over has been to organize his film crew chiefs by genre, so that individual executives focus on producing 3-4 films per year each in distinct genres like comedy, drama, horror, sci-fi, etc.” ” and it’s unclear whether the streamer will continue with these accolades as it continues to revamp its business.
Although he championed some ambitious foreign films and independent arthouse films that were awards darlings, Lin had a reputation for being more interested in commercial fare than art-house films than his predecessor Stuber. Some of his hits include “Happy Gilmore 2,” “Frankenstein,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” “War Machine,” “The Rip,” “People We Meet on Vacation,” and “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” And although it was originally a Sony animated film, it was at the helm when Netflix’s biggest title of all time came out, “KPop Demon Hunters.”
And yet Netflix across the board, not just the movie side, is struggling to engage as it tries to compete with YouTube for total hours spent watching. Lin’s approach has been to soften her stance on film, starting this weekend by releasing box office data for “La Bola Negra” for the first time in Netflix history, and she hopes to reach an even wider audience when next year she releases Gerwig’s “Narnia” in wide release with a good exclusive theatrical window before its premiere on Netflix.
Prior to founding Rideback, Dan served as Executive Vice President of Production at Warner Bros. Pictures between 1999 and 2007, overseeing the production and development of titles such as “The Departed.”
Variety was the first to report the news of Lin’s departure.
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