Welcome back (we’ve been slacking!) to another weekly recap of Netflix news that you may have missed this week. It’s been a week where we got to see several new cast members for the highly anticipated Knives Out 2. Here are some of the big news of the week and what we’ve been reading!
On the new releases front this week, there have been 26 new titles since Monday and we’ll have a full recap available on Sunday. Until then, you can browse all the new releases on Netflix via our what’s new on Netflix hub.
As we mentioned, numerous casting announcements were made for Knives Out 2 this week including Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Edward Norton, and Dave Bautista. We’ll keep you posted on more via our preview for the sequel.
Monday, May 10th
- The Circle just wrapped up season 2 on Netflix and according to the top 10s, is doing relatively well. The UK version of the show (which is the original) just got canceled after three seasons. DigitalSpy got the scoop on the fact that the UK series may move over to Netflix.
- Jodan Moblo joins a long list of ex-Disney employees moving over to Netflix. He’ll serve as director of literary scouting.
- The third Netflix project with David Attenborough was announced and set for release in early June 2021.
Wednesday, May 11th
- Lupin part 2 is set to release in mid-June 2021 with a third season confirmed.
- A late K-drama addition for May 2021 was announced with new episodes of Mad for Each Other set to arrive from May 24th onwards.
Wednesday, May 12th
- Deadline reported that duo Daniel Powell and Alex Bach via their company Irony Point has inked an overall deal with Netflix. They’re behind comedy titles including I Think You Should Leave and Sarah Cooper: Everything’s Fine.
- Another Ryan Murphy project was picked up with the documentary Pray Away scheduled to come to Netflix after it debuts at the Tribeca Film Festival next month.
- Starz CEO Jeffery Hirsch indicated that Netflix’s new Sony deal may not be as valuable as some predict. He said: “We really looked at the data, and other than those three movies, we were paying for stuff that wasn’t really resonating with our consumer. For us the value wasn’t there.”
- Kidscreen reports that Netflix will be the exclusive home of a brand new feature film for the kid’s toy franchise L.O.L. Surprise due for release in October.
Thursday, May 13th
- Disney+ growth slowed down (as did Netflix’s) for Q1 2021 and it’s likely to be a recurring theme for the rest of the year. 2020 was such an outlier for Netflix other new entries and we’re starting to see a slowdown. Good roundup of Disney’s results by Observer’s Brandon Katz here.
- Ultraman has been a big part of Netflix’s anime lineup and on Thursday, they announced a new feature film in the universe with Shannon Tindle directing.
- Netflix officially announced Enola Holmes 2 despite it being a pretty badly kept secret with reports (including one by us in late April 2021) indicating that Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill would be returning.
- 5 episodes of the Kevin Smith produced animated series Masters of the Universe is set for July 5th and it looks stunning.
— What's on Netflix (@whatonnetflix) May 13, 2021
- Bridgerton is already renewed through to season 4 but a report this week could suggest even more could be in store given that the production has applied for various permits for the next five years. This could be nothing (production for each season could last longer than a year for example) but worthy of note.
Friday, May 14th
- 365 Days, one of the biggest movies of 2020 on Netflix (we’re not kidding) is getting not one but two sequels that will be coming exclusively to Netflix.
- We often cover American award shows but this week, the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards took place in South Korea, and shows and movies that are on Netflix scored big. Big winners of the night include Space Sweepers, Extracurricular and It’s Okay Not To Be Okay.
- A release date was set for the Naomi Osaka docuseries and it’s coming in July 2021.
- Today, Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead opens in theaters in the United States and while some of the coverage seems to be overhyped as to the importance of it, it is noteworthy.
Have we missed any of the big news for the week? Let us know in the comments.
