Netflix Plots TV Takeover at Upfront Presentation
New offerings include Kate Hudson basketball series, Will Ferrell golf movie and Christmas Day NFL action
Netflix shared some programming projects at an upfront presentation in New York. Those include the basketball-themed comedy series Running Point, a Mindy Kaling-produced show with Kate Hudson as the new head of a famed basketball franchise in Los Angeles; and the Kevin Williamson family drama The Waterfront. As the title suggests, that one is set in a small coastal town “with twists and turns inspired by true events,” Netflix said, as a family struggles to hold it together.
Williamson’s credits include the Scream film franchise, Dawson’s Creek and The Vampire Diaries.
Tim McGraw is involved in what Netflix calls “a contemporary cowboy saga,” while a docuseries will detail the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s.
Sticking with the sports theme, Will Ferrell will star in the series Golf, where he plays a fictional golf legend. Executive producers include Ferrell, Ramy Youseff and Rian Johnson.
Netflix is also doing three series with the International Olympic Committee: Simone Biles: Rising, a show about men’s basketball teams from around the world, and Sprint, about 100-meter sprinters.
Films include Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2, the Keira Knightley film The Woman in Cabin 10 and another from Kathryn Bigelow.
Happy Gilmore came out in 1996.
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Netflix also inked a deal with the NFL for a package including Christmas Day games in 2025 and 2026.
Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.