Yahoo Finance entertainment reporter Allie Canal details the success of Netflix’s TV series on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer and the company’s plans to build a production facility at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.
Video Transcript
SEANA SMITH: Despite backlash here from victims’ families, “Dahmer, Monster” is Netflix’s second most watched series. Yahoo Finance’s Alexandra Canal is here with the details. Allie, we talked about the fact that it was a hit right off the bat. I haven’t watched it yet, but people love it.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: People love it. I haven’t watched it yet either.
DAVE BRIGGS: Me neither.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: I am scared to watch it. I’ve heard it’s an emotional roller coaster. But America loves true crime. And the numbers are proving it. In the first three weeks, it has amassed more than 701 million hours viewed, making it the second biggest series to date for Netflix–
DAVE BRIGGS: Gosh.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: –behind “Stranger Things.” So it actually dethroned “Bridgerton.” And you know when you’re dethroning “Bridgerton” that you have a massive, massive hit on your hands. And for a little context behind that number, “Stranger Things” Season 4 racked up 1.35 billion hours viewed in the first month. So the fact that “Dahmer” even came close is a huge accomplishment. “Stranger Things” has a really big fan base, has that strong IP.
So “Dahmer” doing really well, great thing for Netflix, but also a great thing for Ryan Murphy. This is his third year into his five-year contract with Netflix. He signed a $300 million deal back in 2018. And this is really the first series from him to really drum up that big response that Netflix wanted. So people have been a little critical, saying whether or not “Dahmer” is really worth that $300 million price tag. We’ll see what else Ryan Murphy can pull out there. I think also Netflix is not going to be giving out $300 million contracts any time soon.
DAVE BRIGGS: I mean, Shonda. Shonda got one, too.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yeah, she got one, too, and that was during the heyday.
DAVE BRIGGS: She needs to follow up “Bridgerton.”
ALEXANDRA CANAL: That was the heyday of Netflix when they didn’t care. They were just giving out money left and right. That’s not going to happen anymore.
SEANA SMITH: They’re cutting costs a little bit.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: But true crime, obviously, it’s a win every time.
RACHELLE AKUFFO: And obviously, a lot’s changed since those $300 million deals, including a considerable subscriber falloff this year for Netflix. But the streaming giant is in the running to build a massive production facility on a former Army base along the Jersey Shore. Tell us more about that.
ALEXANDRA CANAL: Yes, you said it. 300 acres, Jersey Shore, about 50 miles from New York City. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is all about this. He’s been dying to bring some more Hollywood productions to New Jersey. There’s a lot of artists. There’s a lot of creatives there, especially with the close proximity to New York. And if this deal does go through, it’ll be the second largest studio for the company after New Mexico.
So we could be seeing some more productions along the Jersey coastline. I am a Jersey girl. So, you know, I fully approve this move by Netflix. But we’ll see what happens once this deal officially goes through. They were in talks last year, so despite the profitability struggles, despite the fact that they’ve been losing subscribers, they still seem to be full steam ahead on this. So that just indicates to me that they want to produce more content and better content.
SEANA SMITH: Doing all they can to try and attract those new subscribers, something that they’ve been struggling to do, like you said. All right, Allie Canal, thank you.
