Dan Lin is out at Netflix.
Puck's Matt Belloni reports that the streamer fired its film chief this weekend. New leadership will be named later by incoming chief content officer Peter Rice. Netflix declined to comment. Lin was expected to join Bela Bajaria on the firing line, and now it's happened.
Some context: Lin had been running Netflix's film division since April 2024, and his tenure was the polar opposite of Scott Stuber's era, which gave free reign to Scorsese, Coen, Fincher, Cuarón, Iñárritu, Campion, Bong, and Soderbergh. Under Lin, the quality of Netflix's movies got worse. The Lin era was defined by mid-budget, algorithm-friendly fare and a wobbly relationship with the filmmakers who actually gave Netflix its prestige.
He didn't hide it, either. Earlier this year, Lin told the New York Times that directors who still want a theatrical release are "filmmakers that we've accepted we just won't work with." That's a stunning thing to say out loud, especially after Stuber spent years courting auteurs.
Then the A-list directors started walking. David Fincher exited his Netflix deal after clashing with Lin over "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth." Fincher had pushed for major, costly reshoots; Netflix refused before eventually agreeing to a few days of additional photography. There was also friction with Greta Gerwig over "Narnia: The Magician's Nephew," with Lin giving plenty of notes on early cuts and promising to "fix" it in post. And according to a Page Six Hollywood source, Ben Affleck privately vented that he can't stand Lin. All of this happened in 2026 alone.
The bigger picture isn't pretty for Netflix, either. Per Puck, engagement at Netflix grew just 2% in the first half of 2026, and the stock is down more than 40% since the failed bid for Warner Bros. The company also laid off roughly 1,000 employees, about 6% of its workforce, in its biggest cuts since 2022.
So who's next? Ex-Warner Bros. chiefs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca are the obvious replacements, but they reportedly want real theatrical guarantees from co-CEO Ted Sarandos first. Rice, who ran Fox Searchlight back in the day, knows a thing or two about filmmaker-driven movies. That's encouraging.
Still, let's be real, Lin was executing a mandate that came from the top. Sarandos' allergy to theatrical, and to good movies, is the root of the problem, and he's not going anywhere.
Under Lin, the quality of Netflix's movies got worse. The Lin era was defined by mid-budget, algorithm-friendly fare and a wobbly relationship with the filmmakers who actually gave Netflix its prestige.