Netflix has been launching original programming for a decade now, as Feb. 6, 2022, marks the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Lilyhammer on the streaming service. As reported by DEADLINE, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos issued a touching essay commemorating the anniversary and reflecting on the company’s roots in content for international audiences.
“Looking back, ‘Lilyhammer’ was perhaps an unorthodox choice for our first show. But it worked because it was a deeply local story that we could share with the world,” Sarandos wrote. “The jokes and references worked locally and the more universal themes of the shows traveled perfectly. Since then, we’ve seen so many great local stories resonate with people in other countries and from other cultures: shows and films set anywhere and told in any language.”
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
Even though many consider this to be the first Netflix original, it comes with an asterisk. In a video chat posted on the streaming service’s website, Sarandos and Van Zandt admit that House Of Cards was the first original series ordered by Netflix in a huge deal that shook up Hollywood. Both Sarandos and Van Zandt acknowledged the fact that Netflix’s first original was a local Norwegian production featuring subtitles. The streamer made local production a cornerstone of its global expansion, taking non-English shows mainstream and turning series such as Lupin, Money Heist and Squid Game into global hits. They have continued to capture that market and expand original series and international programming.
You can read the essay below:
Lilyhammer went on for three seasons before coming to an end in 2014. If you missed the series, you can still stream it on Netflix. You can also watch what Ted Sarandos and Stevie Van Zandt had to say about the series in the video below.
