‘Perfect Match' Season 3 Cast Member Instagrams
Read on for deets on the full cast, which—in addition to your fave members of the Netflix reality universe—includes stars from The Bachelor, Love Island, and Siesta Key as well.
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UPI
2 minutes ago
- UPI
Netflix reports 45% increase in profit for Q2
CEO of Netflix Ted Sarandos attends the premiere of "Good Grief" at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles in 2023. Netflix reported its Q2 profits are up beyond market expectations. File Photo by Allison Dinner/EPA July 17 (UPI) -- For its second quarter this year, Netflix reported total revenues of $11.08 billion, with an operating income of $3.8 billion and margin of 34.1%, which are way up from last year and beyond market estimates. Netflix isn't releasing subscriber figures, choosing instead to focus on revenue. It's trying out new revenue models, including advertising. New price increases with slow customer turnover are what likely caused the strong margins, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Earnings in the United States and Canada grew by 15%, a boost from 9% in Q1. Forecasted revenue for Q3 is $11.5 billion in revenue, $3.6 billion in operating income, and operating margins of 31.5%. Netflix said in May that its ad tier surpassed 94 million monthly subscribers. This tier has more than 50% of the company's new signups. It raised the price of the ad tier for the first time in January to $7.99 a month. The company expects to double its ad revenue in 2025. "We believe our ad tech platform is foundational to our long-term ads strategy and, over time, will enable us to offer better measurement, enhanced targeting, innovative ad formats and expanded programmatic capabilities," the company said in its quarterly shareholder letter. The company also shared its Engagement Report, which listed what members watched so far this year. It said people watched more than 95 billion hours of Netflix, watching a wide range of genres and languages. Netflix original shows such as Orange Is the New Black, Ozark and Money Heist all had more than 100 million hours viewed. Movies such as Red Notice, Leo and We Can Be Heroes each had more than 20 million views. "Watchtime -- or engagement -- is our best indicator of member happiness," the company said. "When people watch more, they stick around longer and recommend Netflix to others." Company CEO Ted Sarandos said on Netflix's quarterly earnings call: "Look, we want to be in business with the best creatives on the planet, regardless where they come from. Some of them are here in Hollywood. Others are in Korea, some are in India, and some are creators that distribute only on social media platforms, and most of them have not yet been discovered."
Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
Eric Bana Battles Evil In The Vast Wilderness In Netflix's ‘Untamed'
Eric Bana in 'Untamed' on Netflix. Eric Bana stars as Kyle Turner, a special agent for the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch (ISB), in the new Netflix mystery Untamed. He's highly skilled in his job, but a string of deaths makes him question everything he thinks he knows. Set amidst the stunning scenery of Yosemite, the six-episode series uncovers a dark side where long-held secrets come to light, starting with the brutal murder of a young woman. Kyle is tasked with solving the case while simultaneously grappling with his grief after a devastating loss. Untamed is a gripping, fast-paced thriller that grabs the viewer in the very first gut-wrenching scene. It was created by father-daughter writing team Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith, who also served as co-showrunners and executive producers alongside Bana and John Wells. Also starring are Rosemarie DeWitt, Sam Neill, Lily Santiago, and Wilson Bethel. Rosemarie DeWitt and Eric Bana speak about their characters' complicated relationship in 'Untamed' ... More on Netflix. Though this is a fun ride, Untamed is much more than a murder mystery. It's also a story of grief and the aftermath of unfathomable loss. Kyle and his ex-wife, Jill Bodwin (DeWitt), suffered the ultimate tragedy when their young son died. Though his death permanently fractured their marriage, the two are unable to let go of one another. Bana and DeWitt each spoke with me about why the relationship between Kyle and Jill was such an important part of the overall story and why the dynamic between these two characters drew them to their respective roles. Kyle still sees his son everywhere he goes, and Bana felt that there was a connection between Kyle's grief and his determination to find out who killed the young woman at the heart of the show's murder mystery. 'I think there was definitely a subconscious, emotional connection between the victim and what he's been through. I think he's so good at his job, and I think the job is his therapy. The only way that he can really cope is by being in nature and continuing to put one foot in front of the other, personally and professionally. That's how he's going to deal with what has happened to him,' he explained in a sit-down interview. In a separate phone interview, DeWitt talked about the complicated, codependent relationship between Kyle and Jill. Though divorced, they remain intricately connected because of their painful past. Though Jill is married to someone else, there's still a deep love between them. Rosemarie DeWitt in 'Untamed' on Netflix. 'I think these two are bonded. They were just dealt a really bad hand, but they are each other's person. There's still great love there. I think they wish the world were different and that they could be together, and they can't tolerate it, because what they share is just too painful. They're the only person that each needs and the only person that they can't have. That's torture. They're both in the middle of hell, and there's no with you, and there's no without you,' DeWitt clarified. As for Kyle's struggle to move forward after the death of their son, DeWitt contends that it's partly because he's not facing his pain. 'It's a very feminine journey in our culture that women are given space and time to feel their feelings. Maybe, in some way, we're still raising men and boys to compartmentalize their feelings and not deal with them. I think Kyle's journey is figuring out a step forward and not letting his past haunt him.' If he were able to do that, DeWitt believes he'd be able to move forward. 'So many people spend their lives trying to fix things they can't. I think Kyle is caught in all the parts of life he can't control, but he thinks he can. Nothing about that park can be tamed, and that's where he believes he can exercise the most control. If he can do it there, then maybe he can rework his past, or his future, or his marriage.' DeWitt said she enjoyed the challenging dynamics of these complex characters. 'I love a script when I don't have any idea what I'm going to do with it, when it's surprising or unknowable to me. When I'm like, 'Why does she do that? Why is there still so much love there? Why can't they move away from each other?' I love a puzzle.' Eric Bana in 'Untamed' on Netflix. Though Bana's character in Untamed is a good guy, he also enjoys portraying bad guys, such as the psychopath he portrayed in Dirty John. I asked which he enjoys more, and he said he likes to mix it up. 'I like to be open. I don't want to be one of those actors that people know exactly what they're gonna get. Maybe I'm gonna die, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm a good guy, maybe I'm the bad guy. I think it's more interesting; it's certainly more interesting for me. It means you can do a lot of different work. I don't know what's going to come tomorrow. I don't know what that script is going to be like that I'm about to read. It's exciting and fun bouncing between the two.' When asked if he has to find a way to like the unsavory characters he takes on, Bana answered definitively. 'I don't have to find a way to like them, but I have to find a way to be them. And I have to be able to fight for them and justify them, and really get in their skin and play their game. That's the job. That's the challenge. But I don't have to like them to do that. I don't have to agree with anything they do, but I do have to feel for them.' As for Kyle, Bana said he wanted to portray him ever since he first read a script in 2019. Throughout the interview, he repeatedly credited the writers with creating such dynamic, multi-layered characters who are each working through tragedy and loss. He also spoke about the complexities of the relationship between Kyle and Jill. 'I thought it was beautiful and unique. When I read the interplay between them, I realized I hadn't seen that kind of relationship on screen before. It's quite often a cliché, a combative thing. In this case, people who have experienced a shared loss will be able to empathize with the dynamic of their relationship. I thought it was touching.'
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Netflix Cruises, But Will Live Sports, Events Drive More Growth?
Netflix had a very good second quarter, topping Wall Street expectations on its top and bottom lines, and providing guidance for the rest of the year, driven by a slate of popular returning shows. But the question will be, having decisively won the first era of the Streaming Wars, where does Netflix go from here? Needham & Co. senior analyst Laura Martin said on CNBC before the results were released that Wall Street was focused on a couple of key issues going forward: how much the company will spend on content, and whether that will incorporate more live-sports video rights spending. 'I think Wall Street would be okay if they went to $18 billion,' in annual content spending, Martin said. 'Where does live sports fit?' Indeed, that's a crucial question. Netflix executives have said in repeated earnings calls the past few years that they expected to spend around $17 billion on all their content spending worldwide. The company's executives repeated that mantra on Thursday's earnings Q&A with analysts, suggesting in passing that they were spending closer to $16 billion this year. MoffettNathanson's Robert Fishman asked about the company's sports rights acquisition plans now that Formula 1's deal appears likely to go to Apple's TV+ platform at a reported $150 million per year. 'Remember that sports are a sub-component of our live strategy,' Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said. 'We focus on ownable, big breatkthrough events.' That includes another year of two NFL games on Christmas Day, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, weekly WWE Smackdown 'casts, and upcoming combat sports fights and exhibitions. All of those rights deals 'have to make economic sense as well,' Sarandos said, perhaps suggesting $150 million a year for the F1 rights is a bit steep. Current rightsholder Disney/ESPN reportedly had offered a big bump, to close to $100 million, but wasn't going to try to match Apple's $3 trillion wallet. Sports and live events only drew about 200 billion hours hours of viewing, a small number in the vast reaches of Netflix audience data, but Sarandos said 'not all view hours are equal,' with sports and other live events helping with audience engagement and watch time overall, and probably with retention in an industry struggling elsewhere with customer churn rates. So Sarandos said the company is optimistic that it can further drive viewership in 2025's second half after seeing only 1 percent growth in view time in the first half. The 2025 slate is heavily weighted toward the back half of the year, featuring established hits such as Stranger Things and Wednesday and an already released final season of massive Korean hit Squid Game. Stranger Things creators the Duffer Bros. have a new show coming, and Oscar-winning writer/director/producer Greta Gerwig is bringing her take on the Chronicles of Narnia. Other likely hits are more seasons of Millie Bobby Brown's Enola Holmes, the live-action One Piece, The Last Avatar, Lupin, and Berlin. 'We can accelerate our growth with big hits, but that accelerates growth only about 1 percent,' said Sarandos. 'It's about a steady drumbeat of shows and films, and soon games. We had 44 shows nominated for Emmys this year (in last week's announcements). That's what quality at scale looks like.' Netflix has raised prices on its top tier pretty much worldwide in the past year, bumping up revenues while not appreciably denting its industry-leading low churn rate of around 2 percent. Needham analyst Martin suggested the Street wants to know how Netflix is leveraging its vast oceans of data with generative artificial intelligence tools. It's a question facing every tech firm, and many not so technical ones too. And it's further complicated by labor contracts that Netflix and other media companies have signed with the Hollywood guilds that limit the use of AI tools in many creative corners of the business. Those Hollywood contracts don't cover what Netflix productions from dozens of other cities around the world, however. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos pointed to a small Argentine production that wanted to incorporate a collapsing building into its story. Creating the scene with traditional visual effects would have been prohibitively expensive, but the production turned to a set of AI tools developed by Eyeline, the skunk works, er, 'production innovation shop' inside Netflix's in-house visual-effects company, Sarandos said. 'The cost wouldn't have been feasible on a project with that kind of budget,' Sarandos said, but the AI scene was created 10 times faster, at a dramatically lower cost, and still worked for the creators and the audience. 'More importantly, the audience was thrilled. (AI) expands the possibilities on the screen.' Even with U.S.-based productions governed by the guild contracts, there's plenty that AI can still reshape, such as better ad-targeting, more relevant program recommendations, and highly specific trailers and thumbnails that pull the elements from a show that a given viewer is likely to most be interested in, said Co-CEO Greg Peters. The company 'has been in the personalization and recommendation business for two decades,' Peters said, but AI will allow it to do a better job, for instance with the ability to use natural-language conversations with the Netflix search engine to more precisely find something to watch. 'We see all the work we do there as a force multiplier,' Peters said. 'There's a bunch of places where we think we have an advantage in terms of data and scale.' Martin suggested that for many investors going forward, the Walt Disney Co. might be a better bet, as AI opens the spigot of content creation to a vast new ocean of democratized content creation. Disney sidesteps some of that because nearly half its revenues come from its parks and resorts, among other business unites that are impossible to replicate with AI-generated content. Until recently, the company's gargantuan content spend didn't include any live sports or other events for its streaming-only operations. That's changing rapidly. That total also didn't include the legacy theatrical exhibition, broadcast and cable spending that traditional media companies have traditionally relied on to maximize their revenues, all of which are in secular decline. As a result, one thing is almost certain: the growth Netflix seeks won't be coming from a big acquisition of one of the Hollywood media companies now trying to figure out their futures. Both Comcast's NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery are busy spinning off most of their cable networks and other legacy assets facing structural decline. Paramount is in the throes of an $8 billion acquisition by David Elllison's Skydance, and Lionsgate just split off its Starz streaming unit. "We agree that continued consolidation is likely," said CFO Spencer Neumann. 'But within legacy media, we don't think that materially changes the landscape.' Netflix has 'no interest in owning legacy media networks,' Neumann went on. When the company applies its framework to possible acquisitions, 'one of the things we look at is the opportunity cost.' An acquisition, especially in a massively politicized regulatory environment, is likely a distraction from other things the company could do with the money, like buy more programming or returning cash to shareholders with stock buybacks.
