Netflix—which in recent years has wooed such high-profile network showrunners as Scandal‘s Shonda Rhimes—has signed up prolific writer and producer Brad Falchuk in a reported four-year, eight-figure deal. Falchuk co-created and helped steer such hits as Glee, Scream Queens, and 9-1-1 for 21st Century Fox, which was acquired by Disney earlier this month.
Falchuk’s departure from Fox is the latest in a series of high-profile talent-grabs for Netflix, which has enough viewership (and cash) to lure big names from their major-network homes. Last year, it signed black-ish creator Kenya Barris, who’d been working at ABC—the same network for which Rhimes had produced such smashes as Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. Netflix also convinced Falchuk’s long-time producing partner, Ryan Murphy, to depart Fox in a deal rumored to be worth $300 million.
Such pacts underscore the importance of hit-making execs like Falchuk, who has worked on shows including American Horror Story and Pose—just the kind of buzz-building, attention-grabbing, long-running series that Netflix needs to draw subscribers. And the streamer is hardly alone in building up its talent war chest: Apple’s recently announced foray into original production includes deals with such players as Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, and JJ Abrams.
Falchuk, as it turns out, already has a relationship with Netflix: He’s currently working on the Fox-produced drama The Politician for the streamer, starring his wife, Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow.
