Netflix’s Ted Sarandos says “we don’t want a writers’ strike,” but highlights “robust” lineup of films and series in case of WGA action

As part of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, Netflix is ​​one of the companies currently at the table negotiating a new deal with the Writers Guild.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos spoke about the possibility of a writer’s strike today during the company’s first-quarter financial results.

“We respect the writers and we respect the WGA. We can’t be here without them,” he said. “We don’t want a strike. If there is a strike – and we want to work very hard to make sure we find a fair and equitable deal so we can avoid one – but if there is, we have a lot of upcoming shows and films from around the world. We can probably serve our members better than most.”

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Sarandos is the second high-profile executive to speak out about the possibility of a strike, after Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav. Discovery said last week it was “optimistic that we can get through this in a way that is fair to all parties”, but that it was “assuming the worst from a business perspective”.

Netflix came under writers’ hair this week after it was revealed that Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings bought a stake in a ski resort. Dailyn Rodriguez, Netflix showrunner Lincoln’s lawyersaid on social media “they are so poor” with a link to the story of Hastings’ last purchase.

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Sarandos stressed that the last strike was “devastating” for the producers and “really difficult” for the industry. “It was painful for the local economy that supports manufacturing. And it was very, very, very bad for the fans,” he added.

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“We really don’t want that to happen. But we should expect the worst. We have a pretty solid list of releases that could take a long time, but be clear, we’re sitting around the same table and we’re going to try to come to a fair solution so there’s no strike,” Sarandos said.