Editor’s Letter: Netflix king of the jungle
People across the world have been bingeing up a storm during the pandemic, with the streamer blitzing its quarterly expectations.
Never has there been a better time to deepen one’s relationship with the small screen, if Netflix’s first-quarter results are anything to go by. People across the world have been bingeing up a storm during the pandemic, with Netflix blitzing its quarterly expectations to attract 15.77 million paid subscribers during the period — a figure almost double what analysts expected. Some credit must go to Kansas-born entrepreneur Joe Exotic — the mullet-sporting, aspiring country singer and star of documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness — with 64 million viewers tuning in to watch the beguiling lion tamer try to save his big cat park (in his words, “people don’t come to see the tigers; they come to see me”). It seems Disney+, the newest streamer on the block, could not have picked a better time to join the revolution. Earlier this month it hit 50 million paid subscribers globally, and as Stephen Armstrong discovers in today’s cover story (pages 6-7), the company has a fascinating strategy in place to compete with the established players. Will it be as successful as Netflix? It remains to be seen. What is certain, though, is that audiences are the real winners with Disney+ reaching deeply into its pockets to create exclusive content based on some of our old favourites, such as Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian.
RELATED: Louis Theroux on his audience with Tiger King Joe Exotic | David Stratton’s best of Netflix: The Land Of Steady Habits
Looking back over This Life it’s impossible not to marvel at how much our lives have changed during the past couple of months. Indeed, the much-loved home of reader stories is a brilliant record of our times. Often it is something extraordinary (a pandemic will do!), poignant or plain funny that compels us to put pen to paper and offer up our experience as a point of connection to people. From time to time readers ask: what makes a piece right for This Life? We love it when you put us squarely in your world. Engage the senses. Tell us what you see, hear and feel. Favour gemlike details over general statements. Follow one narrative thread; while not essential, it is a bonus if it has an arc. This week’s story by reader Lesley O’Dowd (page 26) is a case in point. Like many of us, she longs to be with her loved ones, and her attempt to connect with her 96-year-old mother, while respecting social-distancing measures, dances between the suburban streets of Brisbane and the poetry of Keats. A big thank you to all the readers who have taken the time during the lockdowns to pen their stories for the column. To quote a former prime minister who released a not insignificant memoir this week (you can read Troy Bramston’s illuminating review on page 14) “the reality is I am writing history”. Your stories are also part of history. Keep them coming.
Bridget Cormack is Deputy Editor of Review. Tim Douglas will return next week.