Netflix said no to a TV pitch three times. Then said yes. What changed?

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Hello, Series Business readers! I’m happy to be in your inbox today with the first part of a diptych on the vagaries of creative decision-making. Before we begin my deep dive into the treacherous road taken by a sleazy producer Crazy girl to come alive on Netflix, I attended the BBC Comedy Showcase on Tuesday evening, where the broadcaster’s comedy director, Jon Petrie, confirmed a surprising change of course.

Out: Personal stories and comedy-dramas such as Phoebe Waller Bridge‘S Flea bag

In: Ensemble, very commercial sitcoms à la Ghosts

After eight years of supporting projects in the same spirit as Flea bagthe BBC has had enough.

“We’ve had a lot of comedy dramas where it was all based on one person’s story. But once that’s been told, there’s nowhere else for it to go,” a wary comedy commissioner at the Soho House event told me. “What we need are comedies with a lot of characters who have the ability to go on and on.”

Characters, he hastened to add, who aren’t drug dealers or serial killers or terribly flawed people. “People just want to laugh,” he shrugged.

This plea for sitcoms with a ‘high joke percentage’ and story-of-the-week plots feels inextricably linked to the beloved’s global success Ghosts – the BBC comedy gem that gave CBS a hit show in its American remake. Honestly, who doesn’t love that Ghosts? It’s damn cute. And it sells! BBC Studios, the distribution arm of the BBC, has sold the British show around the world, while Germany and Spain are making their own versions. It’s the ultimate modern British TV success story.

“You can still have storylines and all that, but maybe it’s not someone’s personal journey,” Petrie said, laying out his new strategy to a small audience of journalists. The irony was not lost on his interviewer, a comedian Michelle de Swartewhose own “story of personal renewal”, Spendwas viewed as part of the showcase.

“It feels like a shadow, mate,” De Swarte joked from the audience, laughing.

She’s not wrong. It feels incongruous. Petrie expressed his desire to find the next global sitcom phenomenon just minutes after spending an hour watching seven new comedy titles – the majority of which were . . . comedy dramas. In Only childan aspiring author returns to his family home in Scotland to care for his aging father; Dad problems sees David Morrissey And Aimee Lou Wood as father and daughter who live together out of financial desperation; We might regret this is about a tetraplegic who invites her messy best friend to live with her and her new boyfriend.

These are all solid, well-executed shows, but it’s clear there’s a shortage in the pipeline. At a time when the BBC is fighting tooth and nail to compete with the streamers, it’s starting to feel like the era of written, personal comedy is soon coming to an end, even as Netflix has a huge hit with just that Baby reindeer from that of Great Britain Richard Gadd.

Speaking of Netflix, let’s look at the second half of today’s exploration of what is and isn’t being made. The YA series Crazy girlbased on the bestselling novel by Holly Smaledebuted on the streamer on May 30 and skyrocketed into Netflix’s Top 10 charts both globally and in the United States.

Another YA series climbing the streamer’s Top 10?

Yes, but the story behind it Crazy girl‘s rise is a case study in agility and perseverance that’s suitable for creators of all ages. Every major streaming service and broadcaster has rejected the adjustment. Including Netflix, who said no three failed pitches on both sides of the Atlantic – before the show got its final, miraculous yes.

Today I tell you:

• About the Netflix division that deals with acquisition originals you’ve probably never heard of

• What the Netflix deal reveals about a little-publicized change in strategy

• How innovative financing in the international space sealed the deal

• What the executive producer creatively pushed for – and got from Netflix

• Other players who initially rejected the series and why

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