Top producer poised to leave Netflix for Disney

RYAN Murphy, the television megaproducer behind hits like American Horror Story and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, is poised to move his operation to The Walt Disney, five years after he stunned Hollywood by decamping to Netflix for a US$300 million deal.

The contract talks with Disney are not finished, according to three people briefed on the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations. No deal is expected to be completed until after the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood is resolved, one of the people said. (Unionized film and television writers have been on strike since May 1.)

But the talks between Murphy and Disney are advanced, the people said. Murphy’s contract with Netflix expires at the end of the month. Renewal talks with Netflix never got off the ground.

Representatives for Murphy, Disney and Netflix either declined to comment or did not return calls. Bloomberg reported Murphy’s likely move to Disney earlier on Tuesday (Jun 20).

A deal with Disney would formally reunite Murphy with executives he worked closely with for more than a decade. Disney owns the FX cable channel, which is home to his American Horror Story franchise, which started in 2011. (The series also runs on Hulu, which Disney controls.) ABC, the Disney-owned broadcast network, recently bought the rights to 9-1-1, a drama that Murphy created for Fox in 2018.

Murphy signed his Netflix deal in February 2018. His tenure at Netflix got off to a bumpy start. Misfires included The Politician and Hollywood. It was not until last September that Murphy served up bona fide hits in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story and The Watcher. Both series are among the 10 most-watched Netflix originals ever, according to the streaming service.

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Murphy, who continued making shows for Disney even though he was under contract with Netflix – new seasons of 9-1-1 and American Crime Story continued apace – would likewise continue to make shows for Netflix after a move to Disney. The next edition of Monster will focus on Erik and Lyle Menéndez, the brothers serving life sentences for killing their wealthy parents in 1989, and The Watcher has been renewed for another season. NYTIMES