Ted Sarandos

Ted Sarandos is an American entertainment executive who helped transform Netflix from a DVD rental business into a major producer and distributor of films and television. Born on July 30, 1964, in Phoenix, Arizona, he joined Netflix in 2000, when its central service was mailing DVDs to subscribers. As chief content officer, he oversaw programming decisions, licensing agreements, and the company's expansion into original productions. In July 2020, Netflix appointed him co-chief executive officer alongside its cofounder, Reed Hastings.

His early career was rooted in video retail rather than traditional Hollywood studio management. He worked at Arizona video stores and later held positions at video distribution companies, including ETD and Video City. That experience gave him familiarity with viewing habits and the commercial value of extensive film catalogs. At Netflix, he initially negotiated access to other companies' entertainment before helping build a strategy in which the service commissioned exclusive programs and released entire television seasons together for subscribers worldwide.

A defining early project was House of Cards, the political drama starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright, which premiered in 2013. Netflix committed to two seasons before the series aired, an unusually large upfront commitment for a new television production. Orange Is the New Black also debuted that year, further establishing Netflix's original programming identity. Later successes included Stranger Things, The Crown, and the South Korean series Squid Game, demonstrating the company's ability to attract audiences across genres and languages.

Sarandos also oversaw Netflix's increasing investment in feature films. Alfonso Cuarón's Roma, released in 2018, won three Academy Awards, including best director and best foreign language film. Martin Scorsese's The Irishman followed in 2019 and received ten Oscar nominations. These projects brought celebrated filmmakers into Netflix's orbit while intensifying disputes over theatrical exhibition. Netflix's preference for relatively short cinema runs before streaming availability challenged the release windows that major theater chains traditionally required, making distribution policy a recurring industry controversy.

His leadership has also involved public disputes about content and corporate responsibility. In 2021, Netflix's release of Dave Chappelle's special The Closer prompted criticism over material about transgender people and a walkout by employees and supporters. Sarandos defended keeping the special available but acknowledged mishandling internal communication. In January 2023, Hastings became executive chairman, and Greg Peters joined Sarandos as co-chief executive officer. The arrangement placed Sarandos's entertainment expertise alongside Peters's operational and product experience at the company's highest management level.