In a sign of the changing times, Netflix will reportedly distribute the upcoming CW reboot of "Dynasty" in all territories outside of the U.S.
CBS Studios is producing the drama, which will premiere in October. The international deal is said to be patterned after the two companies' arrangement for "Star Trek: Discovery," which will premiere on the CBS All Access streaming service but on Netflix outside of the U.S.
Just a couple of years after amping up its international expansion, Netflix is on a path to have more subscribers outside of the U.S. by 2018. It recently hit the plateau of 100 million total subscribers and the ratio is about 55:45, domestic to international. Rival Amazon, meanwhile, is just beginning to go global, eyeing a presence in 200 countries in the coming years.
Netflix and CW partners CBS and Warner Bros. already have a domestic streaming deal covering library rights to all of the network's scripted series, including "Dynasty." Netflix previously teamed with Warner Bros. TV for international distribution in certain territories of current CW drama "Riverdale."
The "Dynasty" move was not formally announced but was reported by Deadline Hollywood and U.K. website TVWise. It follows the decision not to present the show at last month's L.A. Screenings, the traditional venue for international TV dealmaking. TVWise noted that the pattern on "Dynasty" follows two similar deals for Netflix as it looks to fill the international pipeline: one with megaindie eOne for "Designated Survivor" (which airs in the U.S. on ABC) and another with Paramount TV for upcoming TNT drama "The Alienist."
The new "Dynasty" reintroduces audiences to Fallon Carrington, played in the reboot by Elizabeth Gillies. Grant Show plays her father, Blake Carrington, and Nathalie Kelley plays her stepmother-to-be, Cristal.