Netflix: Bela Bajaria is “not intellectual” but smart

As of 2020, Netflix television programming is primarily led by Bela Bajaria, who joined the streamer in 2016 and quickly rose through the company from her initial position as head of unscripted and international content. In the time she’s been at the helm, the company has had some stumbling blocks, but it’s also produced incredibly successful series like “Squid Game” and “Wednesday.”

So what’s your method to success? According to a profile in The New Yorker, it makes shows like “gourmet cheeseburgers.”

Written by staff member Rachel Syme, the profile chronicled a year in Bajaria’s life as the executive traveled the world and met with Netflix’s development teams in multiple countries. In the profile, Bajaria explained that her ideal Netflix series is “premium yet commercial,” like Bridgerton, which her Vice President Jinny Howe describes as a “gourmet cheeseburger.” The profile shows that Bajaria has been pushing for teams to expand content at various meetings, telling a group at the Latin American headquarters, “This isn’t science. It’s a big creative endeavor. But it’s about recognizing that people like to have more.”

Bajaria was promoted to Netflix’s head of TV after CEO Reed Hastings fired former TV boss Cindy Holland in 2020. The change in TV leadership was taken as an indication of a shift in Netflix’s overall strategy in television, as the streamer increasingly focused on developing more commercial content at scale, rather than developing critically acclaimed, creator-led series.

An anonymous source in the story, identified as a former executive, said the election “wasn’t shocking” from a financial standpoint, adding, “Some of Cindy’s shows have been tough. People made them for prestige and for their friends.” Sarandos himself was interviewed for the story, in which he said Netflix’s goal is “to be equal parts HBO and FX and AMC and Lifetime and Bravo and E! and Comedy Central,” saying that Netflix’s aggressive pursuit of growth means they can’t afford to be “constrained behind a sensibility.”

The profile also describes Bajaria’s professional background, coming to Netflix as a veteran from CBS where she led the films and miniseries division for years, and paints a picture of her as a critical leader focused on constant growth. One particularly blunt quote from an anonymous source (attributed to Bajaria as a colleague) says that she owes her success to the fact that she’s not an “intellectual.”

“The thing is, she’s not an intellectual. she is smart There’s a difference,” the anonymous source said in the profile. “She’s brave and it takes that. I don’t have that gene and that’s why my career has only gone so far. You have to be able to say yes and keep going.”

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