Netflix is reshaping the leadership of its content operation as the streamer looks to increase viewing engagement while revenue growth cools.

The company ousted chief content officer Bela Bajaria last week and tapped veteran television executive Peter Rice to replace her. The shake-up came amid layoffs affecting 1,000 employees and extended beyond Netflix’s top programming position.

Netflix also parted ways with film chief Dan Lin and his top lieutenant, Doug Belgrad, along with original series director Carolina Garcia.

On Netflix’s Q3 2026 earnings call, co-CEO Ted Sarandos directly addressed the decision to install new leadership over the company’s programming lineup. Sarandos, who previously led Netflix’s content operations for more than 20 years, said the streamer sees room to improve.

“I know that we could do better, and we want to build on that momentum,” Sarandos said when asked about the changes.

Sarandos Praises Bajaria’s Netflix Run

Although Netflix removed Bajaria from its chief content role, Sarandos highlighted her decade at the company and credited her with helping oversee successful programming and an expansion into new kinds of content.

He also emphasized her role in building Netflix’s international team, which produces local content around the world. Sarandos described that operation as an important competitive differentiator for the streamer over the past decade.

“Bela had an incredible decade-long run here,” he said. “She put a lot of great hits on the board.”

The next phase, according to Sarandos, will focus on taking Netflix’s slate further, particularly in the United States. He pointed to the wider impact that a major American series can have when it becomes a global conversation.

“Now we’ve seen an opportunity to take our slate to the next level, especially in the U.S. where we can have an outsized impact when we create a big buzzy show that members love and talk about all over the world,” Sarandos said.

Why Netflix Chose Peter Rice

Rice arrives with experience at Disney and 21st Century Fox, and Sarandos said the two executives have known each other for approximately 15 years.

In explaining the appointment, Sarandos presented Rice as an executive capable of handling both the scale and breadth of Netflix’s entertainment business. He cited Rice’s leadership experience across television networks, movie studios and streaming services, as well as his work spanning network television, prestige cable, theatrical and television films, streaming and live sports.

“His creative instinct and his business acumen are remarkable,” Sarandos said, describing Rice as a leader able to manage both quality and volume at scale.

Sarandos also said Rice’s move to Netflix had generated an “overwhelming” outpouring of excitement from across the entertainment industry and the creative community.

Talent relations will be another central part of Rice’s assignment. Sarandos acknowledged that writers, producers and other creative figures have choices about where to work in a competitive market. Netflix, he said, wants to remain a destination where talent feels able to produce its best work.

“Peter Rice understands talent relations,” Sarandos said, calling him “the exact right person” to lead those efforts in the United States and internationally. Sarandos specifically identified that area as one Rice can improve going forward.

ShowBiz Take

This is more than a single executive replacement. Netflix has changed multiple senior figures across film and television while cutting 1,000 jobs, placing the programming overhaul within a broader period of retrenchment and reassessment.

Sarandos’s comments also make the creative priority unusually clear: Netflix wants U.S. programming capable of generating attention around the world, without abandoning the international operation that he credited Bajaria with helping build.

Rice is therefore being handed a two-part challenge. He must help elevate the slate at a moment when Netflix wants stronger engagement, while also strengthening relationships with creative talent that can choose among competing companies. Sarandos’s public endorsement makes clear that Netflix believes Rice’s combination of creative judgment, business experience and talent management can address those needs.

What Happens Next?

Rice will take charge of Netflix’s content efforts with the company seeking gains in both the United States and global markets. The key question is how the new leadership will translate Sarandos’s ambitions into programming that members watch, love and discuss worldwide.

Netflix has not detailed further changes in the supplied information, but its immediate direction is established: build on Bajaria’s international foundation, pursue bigger U.S. breakthroughs and make the streamer a preferred home for creative talent.