Despite recent setbacks, Netflix is still in the business of TV. Recently, Insider published a report of what kinds of shows Netflix is currently looking for, with intel gathered from talent agencies across Hollywood. Apparently the streamer’s current lodestar is Emily in Paris. One agent told Insider that the show “could not be referenced more” in meetings. But that’s not all they want. Netflix is looking for a female Jack Ryan, a “contained underwater thriller series,” and a modern-day retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo that doesn’t already exist and star Emily VanCamp. They also emphasized a need for economy. Auteur-driven work (done cheaply)! Sci-fi (that isn’t too complicated)! So take heed, potential showrunners, these shows are going to be surefire hits with Netflix. They’re all guaranteed for two seasons, and only two seasons.
Ace in Space
What Netflix Wants: a sci-fi series that’s not too complicated
Logline: A girl from 21st-century Chicago named Alice, a.k.a. Ace (Victoria Pedretti), is transported to the other side of the galaxy (which looks an awful lot like Vancouver), where she discovers an intergalactic conspiracy to control Earth’s future. Lucien Laviscount stars as the head of the alien-led conspiracy. Let’s get him in prosthetics, stat!
How it’s like Emily in Paris: The quirky hat budget will be out of this world.
Dogme 3000
What Netflix Wants: a competition show for the TikTok generation, low-budget auteur stuff
Logline: This reality-show competition, judged by Lars von Trier, Doja Cat, and that guy who peels raw eggs, will put TikTokers to the test by making them adhere to the Dogme 95 rules of filmmaking in their videos. Theater of Cruelty meets Ratatouille the Musical! Like Project Greenlight, the show will seek to generate a new crop of talent. But unlike Project Greenlight, it will work.
How it’s like Emily in Paris: Everyone will also have a fundamental misunderstanding of how social media (especially a hashtag) works.
Les Roommates
What Netflix Wants: a new New Girl
Logline: An adorkable American woman (Jenna Ortega) moves into a chalet with three roommates in somewhere that looks like Vancouver. One’s fussy, one’s kooky, and one’s a potential love interest. They’re all hot and French. How will they ever get along???
How it’s like Emily in Paris: Will never disclose the protagonist’s age.
Whitney in Tuscany
What Netflix Wants: a female Jack Ryan
Logline: Lily Collins plays Whitney Cooper, an undercover CIA operative based in Tuscany. By day, she’s the lone American in an Italian marketing firm. By night, she’s applying enhanced interrogation techniques on the crumb-bums of central Europe. Will she be the one to take down Putin? Sì.
How it’s like Emily in Paris: Self-explanatory.
