On June 12, 2009, Netflix officially inaugurated its division of original productionslaunching the project called Netflix Originals. Since that time, the platform has seen the birth of numerous successful series, among which stand out House of Cards, Stranger Things, Squid Games And Narcos, just to name a few. However, the rise of streaming it wasn’t aNetflix exclusiveover time other platforms have emerged, including Disney+ and Prime Video, which have increasingly undermined its primacy in the streaming market.
In this new episode of the special Wired15 by Great Jupiterthe podcast powered by Wired on the occasion of its 15th anniversary, we talked about how the world oftelevision entertainment has been revolutionized by the advent of streaming. And we did it together with Zerocalcare, pseudonym of Michele Rech, a leading figure in the Italian comics scene. Born in Arezzo and raised between France and Rome, Zero has several successful works to his credit, including The Armadillo Prophecy, Kobane Calling And Rebibbia Quarantine. Furthermore, he is the author of two Netflix Originals TV series: Tear along the edges (distributed worldwide by Netflix) e This world won’t make me bad.
According to the cartoonist, the advent of streaming platforms has had a positive role onaccessibility and diffusion of creative content such as films, documentaries and TV series, but, on the other hand, the transition from a model of peer-to-peer sharing to a subscription-based system also led to a increase in costs total by users. Furthermore, streaming platforms have not only had an impact on the audience, but also on the creative process of the authors. “By working with Netflix one learns that there are scientific rules to follow“, he states, indicating the method with which the platforms, based on the data collected from the public, choose when to put, for example, a cliffhanger or whether to make the two protagonists fall in love. This detailed analysis includes the evaluation of listening peaks and moments when the audience loses interest, thus outlining a rigorous methodology to maximize viewer engagement.
However, Zerocalcare raises some doubts regarding this approach: “I always have the impression that when one starts doing scientific things at a desk, then in fact he produces a series of products that are all a bit the same“, he observes, suggesting that such a cold approach risks compromising the originality and emotional impact of the works. “I’ve always insisted on doing things the way I think they work, remaining faithful to the ideas I have in my head“, declares the cartoonist, recognizing that, although it may lead to results that are not always optimal, authenticity remains essential to his creative process. Something that is not always possible to do when a platform is involved.
To the microphones Daniele Ciciarello and Matteo Imperialewith the editorial coordination of Luca Zorlonithe editorial assistance of Maddalena Sara and the operational and logistical support of Elena Lotto.
