Netflix Expected to “Push Further Into Theaters” Under New CCO Peter Rice

Former Fox Searchlight head and senior Disney executive Peter Rice is now Netflix's chief content officer, replacing Bela Bajaria, who was fired after nearly 10 years at the streamer. Rice officially starts on October 26, and he'll oversee almost everything the company produces. That's an enormous amount of power for one man, but if anyone in this industry has earned it, it's Rice.

Now comes the interesting part. According to Puck's Matt Belloni, who has been talking to Netflix insiders, Rice is expected to push the company even “further into theatrical releases.” A slate is already taking shape: Greta Gerwig's "Narnia," "Charlie vs. the Chocolate Factory," and the "KPop Demon Hunters" sequel. Belloni suggests that list could grow quickly under the new regime.

Not just that. Belloni reports that Sarandos wants Rice to raise the quality bar of Netflix's film output, and that's where Rice's résumé matters most. His relationships with filmmakers go back to his Fox Searchlight days, when the specialty label was an Oscar machine. Under Rice's watch, Searchlight championed titles like “The Wrestler,” "Sideways," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "Juno." Here’s hoping

This is all quite the 180 when you consider that for years, Ted Sarandos insisted that theaters were not a major part of Netflix's film plans, calling theatrical exclusivity an "outmoded idea,” and encouraging to watch “Lawrence of Arabia” on your phone. The streaming-only era, it seems, is slowly coming to an end.