Firing actor cost Netflix a whopping $39M

chibumga izuzu

January 24, 2018 9:12 AM

Netflix lost $39 million from severing ties with "House of Cards" actor, Kevin Spacey.

Netflix has lost $39 million from severing ties with "House of Cards" actor, Kevin Spacey.

While announcing its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings, the company said it had taken a $39 million write-down related to content “we’ve decided not to move forward with.”

According to CFO David Wells, the loss was “related to the societal reset around sexual harassment.” He also added that while content write-downs are not uncommon for Netflix, they had never had one of this magnitude.

Netflix did not specify which content was responsible for the loss, but according to CNN Money, an insider told them that it's from cancelled Kevin Spacey projects

Kevin Spacey projects cancelled by Netflix

In 2017, Netflix announced that "House of Cards" will resume production in 2018 without Spacey.

According to the company, the sixth and final season of the showwill consist of just eight episodes, and unlike the previous seasons, will focus on Robin Wright’s character, Claire Underwood.

The announcement came after Netflix fired Spacey, who was accused of making unwanted sexual advance toward a 14-year-old boy in the 1980s.

Netflix also scrapped its planned biopic of Gore Vidal starring Spacey in the wake of the sexual-assault allegations against the actor.

Also possibly contributing to the write-down is the fact that Netflix cancelled a second stand-up special from Louis CK, after the comedian admitted to sexual miscondut.

The company also suspended production on season 3 of "The Ranch" after Danny Masterson left the show following rape accusations; Production will kick off in 2018 without him.

Nevertheless, "House of Cards" was one of streaming company's first major successes with original content, earning it awards, critical praise and subscribers growth.

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