Dan Lin is out as Netflix film chief amid a wave of executive departures
Netflix’s film chief has left after cuts affecting about 1,000 employees. The company has not named a successor, and the reason for his departure remains unclear.
Dan Lin is out as Netflix’s film chief, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety reported on October 19, 2026, as the streamer cuts jobs and reshapes its senior leadership. Neither outlet identified a successor, leaving the leadership of Netflix’s film division unsettled after a turbulent week.
Variety, citing two sources, said Lin was let go at the start of the preceding weekend and was expected to address his teams on Monday, October 19. A Netflix spokesperson had no immediate comment to the outlet. The precise date of his departure and whether that address took place were not confirmed.
Who could take over Netflix’s film division?
The Hollywood Reporter said Peter Rice, Netflix’s new chief content officer, was expected to find new film leadership. That gives Rice a role in the search, according to the outlet; it does not make him Lin’s successor. Variety said an announcement was expected in the coming days, but no appointment had been identified in either report.
Variety reported speculation that Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, formerly heads of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, had been speaking with Netflix about a possible role. The report did not establish that either would get the film job.
How Lin’s exit fits into Netflix’s leadership changes
Lin’s departure follows cuts affecting roughly 1,000 Netflix employees and the exit of former chief content officer Bela Bajaria, according to both outlets. The Hollywood Reporter also named film executive Doug Belgrad and several senior television executives among those who had left. Variety said the cuts reached Sheroum Kim, who led the film division’s independent slate. Neither report established why Lin was dismissed.
The film division had already lost Belgrad, Lin’s senior colleague, during the cuts. NewsJaws previously covered Belgrad’s departure and the layoffs affecting about 1,000 jobs. The sequence puts Lin’s exit in the context of a wider change at Netflix, while leaving the decision behind his own departure unexplained.
What Dan Lin did before Netflix
Lin joined Netflix in 2024, replacing longtime film chief Scott Stuber. He came from Rideback, the production company associated with the Lego films, the It adaptations and the Sherlock Holmes movies. His departure leaves Netflix looking for another film leader less than three years after that change at the top.
Variety reported that Lin said in a June interview with The New York Times that he had greenlit or acquired 88 movies for Netflix by then. Among the projects the outlet listed were Greta Gerwig’s Narnia film and David Fincher’s The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. Those projects illustrate the scope of the slate overseen by the executive whose role is now vacant.
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Sources and context
- Netflix Film Head Dan Lin OutThe Hollywood Reporter
- Dan Lin Out as Netflix Film ChiefVariety
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.