Netflix ramping up originals from Europe, which is good news for sci-fi fans

Expect more original international sci-fi fare from Netflix in the future. At a session at the European Film Market in Berlin this morning, several higher-ups from the streaming service giant announced that they plan to commission and acquire new content from Europe. 

Executives from Netflix touted such new upcoming series from overseas as the Norwegian horror series Bloodride, the Dutch horror show Ares, French-language YA sci-fi show Mortel, and the English-language fantasy drama The Witcher. These shows, among others, will be added to Netflix in addition to such original sci-fi material from Europe already on the platform like Dark, The Rain and Black Mirror. 

Deadline quotes Kelly Luegenbiehl, vice president of international originals for Europe, Turkey, and Africa, as promising that this is only “the beginning.”

“We will continue to grow,” Luegenbiehl explained at the session. “We plan to scale our investment in global series to match that growth. It’s still early days but there is a lot of momentum internally for building out our international series.” 

Kai Finke, director of German-language acquisitions and co-productions, was quoted by Variety as saying that Netflix is also “looking for more projects” like the interactive “Bandersnatch” episode of Black Mirror. 

“We’ve clearly seen demand in that space,” Finke said.

Considering the increasing popularity of such shows as The Rain or Dark, combined with Netflix's growing global subscriber base, it makes perfect sense that the company would seek out new material overseas. (Netflix currently has a global subscriber base of about 139 million, with roughly 80 million subscribers in international markets.)

“Talent has no boundaries,” said Diego Avalos, director, international originals, Spain at the session. “IP has no boundaries, and the way IP gets adapted and talent can travel throughout our territories is something we constantly speak to each other about.”