Great News – Copyright NBC
Netflix just recently picked up NBC’s Great News as a Netflix Original in international regions. In fact, it picked the first season up for every Netflix region around the world. That’s despite it being cancelled earlier this year. Could the streaming service be looking to take the reigns? We look at why we think it might be happening.
Please note: we’re not privy to any information regarding a Great News revival and this is purely speculation and opinion.
Just to bring you up to speed, the NBC series ran between 2017 and early 2018. Back in May 2018, NBC decided to stop the series after only two released.
The series was a sitcom based in a newsroom. It comes from the creator of 30 Rock which is fairly similar to this series. Netflix just recently picked up season 1 of the show to stream with Hulu still retaining the rights for season 2 for the moment but Netflix will eventually be getting it.
Why we think Netflix could be looking to renew the show
There are a few reasons why we suspect Netflix could be eyeing a potential revival. The first is because they’ve only just picked up the international Netflix Original rights. Traditionally, Netflix only buys up international rights for series that are actively running. The reason for this is that they’ll have access to future seasons.
Secondly, Netflix knows how well NBC comedies perform. “Friends” is the most streamed title in the United Kingdom and the United States Netflix regularly features The Office and Parks and Recreation in its trending list. It’s also acquired The Good Place and Good Girls as international originals while also getting new seasons on the US Netflix library.
So what exactly is happening? We suspect Netflix has picked up the rights to the show relatively cheap and will be closely looking at how well the show performs. Should it get the viewing figures and possibly, more importantly, the repeat viewings it could decide to pick up the show.
It wouldn’t be the first time Netflix revived an NBC show. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was famously turned down by NBC and was later picked up by Netflix. The two shares also share Tina Fey as an executive producer.
Do you think Great News should continue on Netflix? Let us know in the comments down below.
