Netflix Aims To Keep L.A.-Based Production On Track In Wake Of Wildfires

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos and an aerial view of fire trucks parked along Pacific Coast Highway — Ted Sarandos; an aerial view of fire trucks parked along Pacific Coast Highway GEtty Images

Netflix doesn’t expect significant production delays due to the devastating Los Angeles wildfires this month and, if anything, is looking to charge full steam ahead to get crews back to work after years of economic strife in Hollywood.

“The hardest hit areas of these fires — the areas around Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Malibu — are very heavily populated with folks above and below the line who we work with every single day. So we’re doing everything we can to help with with relief, and we’re getting those folks who can back to work,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during Tuesday’s investor call, following the release of the streamer’s 2024 Q4 earnings report.

He emphasized that there will be “no meaningful delays in the delivery of the projects, and no meaningful impact to the [cash flow] this year,” adding that the goal is “to keep everything on schedule safely.”

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“This industry has been through a really tough couple of years, starting with Covid, going into the strikes and now this, so it’s really important that we try not to delay anything and try to make sure that these jobs stay safe,” Sarandos continued.

It’s not yet clear how, if at all, the Palisades and Eaton fires, which are still burning as of Tuesday, will impact film and TV production across Los Angeles County. However, as Sarandos said, these past few years have not been easy in Tinseltown.

According to a recent report from FilmLA, production in L.A. was still down more than 30% over five-year averages in 2024, despite high hopes that the year might provide a much-needed bounce back after production effectively came to a halt multiple times from 2020-2023. Instead, Hollywood was met with a massive production contraction as the major studios attempted to recalibrate from those years of economic strain.

On the bright side, shoot days in Greater L.A. increased by 6.2% in the October-to-December period after 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines.