Netflix has removed Bela Bajaria, the executive who steered its global film and TV slate for years. It landed one day after the company cut about 1,000 jobs. Here is who she is, how she rose, and why the exit happened now.
Bajaria is leaving Netflix and will be replaced by Peter Rice, a former Disney and Fox executive. Netflix said Rice takes over as chief content officer on October 26.
Her exit came only 24 hours after the layoffs. Rumours about her removal had floated for a couple of weeks. Netflix denied all of them.
What Netflix said
Co-CEO Ted Sarandos broke the news to staff in an internal memo. He thanked Bajaria for a decade of dedication, innovation, creativity and leadership. Also, he wrote that it is hard to overstate her impact.
He was equally warm about her successor. Sarandos called Rice one of the most effective at-scale operators in entertainment. He also praised Rice’s talent relationships and his deep experience in both TV and film.
The language was polite. But the sequence of events told a harsher story.
How it played out behind the scenes
Bajaria learned she was being replaced late on Wednesday, after she went to Sarandos around 5:30 pm, according to reports. and asked if she was in or out.
She had taken part in carrying out some of the layoffs before she learned her own fate. Her job reportedly had looked safe for a while. That view followed Paramount owner Ellison naming Bloys head of streaming at Skydance and pushing out Cindy Holland.
Her last public appearance for Netflix came days earlier. On October 12, she spoke at MIPCOM Cannes about Netflix’s belief in local-language programming.
The layoffs
The cuts began on Wednesday, October 14. Sarandos and co-CEO Greg Peters told staff Netflix would lay off about 6% of its workforce, roughly 1,000 people. Staff received pink slips by email.
TheWrap tied the shake-up to a wider slump. It said engagement lagged in 2026 and the stock had fallen nearly 40% from a year earlier. That makes the firing look like part of a larger reset.
Why Netflix acted now
Several pressures piled up.
Slow engagement. Engagement grew just 2% in the first half of 2026, according to the report. For a company built on growth, that is a weak number.
A falling share price. Shares have dropped more than 40% in a year. Investors want answers, and a new content boss is a visible one.
Pressure from YouTube. YouTube took 14.2% of connected TV viewing in July. Netflix held 7.8%. Netflix is no longer fighting only other streamers. It is fighting free video on the same screens.
A failed bid for Warner. Deadline recalled a recent interview on this topic. Bajaria said the failed Warners purchase was always a nice to have at a certain price. The deal did not happen, and the company is now looking inward.
Wall Street ahead. The Ankler noted that Netflix faces investors next week. A fresh leadership team gives the company a story to tell on that call.
Who is Bela Bajaria?
Bajaria was born in London into a Gujarati Indian family. She spent part of her childhood between England and Zambia before settling in the United States. That global upbringing later shaped her taste for local stories told for world audiences.
She has spoken openly about her early jobs. In a March 2026 interview, she described a path that began with work as a cashier at a car wash.
Before Netflix, she worked at CBS and then Universal. She was fired as president of Universal Television in 2016. She has since turned that setback into a talking point.
And, she told an interviewer the dismissal felt freeing. She said it gave her space to reflect on who she was and what she wanted next, and that it took about two years to find clarity.
Sarandos had told her not to take another job without speaking to him first. She joined Netflix in 2016. She already knew Sarandos and Holland from bringing ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ and ‘Master of None’ to the platform.
Bajaria first ran the unscripted slate. In 2019 she took on non-English television. A year later she was elevated again.
In September 2020, Netflix reshuffled its content teams. Cindy Holland left after 18 years. Bajaria became global head of television. Before that, Holland handled English-language originals and Bajaria handled local-language shows. After the change, Bajaria ran both.
Sarandos had held the chief content officer title since 2000. He moved up to co-CEO, and in January 2023 Bajaria took over the content job. From then on, she oversaw all TV and film in all languages.
Her biggest hits
Her slate was huge and wide. It included ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Stranger Things,’ ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Beef.’ Her tenure also produced ‘Arcane.’
Awards followed. ‘Beef’ won eight Emmys for Netflix. She also spoke about the Emmy sweep for ‘Baby Reindeer’ and the global success of ‘Money Heist.’
Under Bajaria, Netflix pushed into live programming. The company formed major partnerships with WWE and the NFL. Sarandos credited her with expanding unscripted content, launching live events and introducing sports.
One boxing event, Mike Tyson against Jake Paul, drew 108 million viewers without a pay-per-view fee. At the end, she was focused on live sports strategy and on turning big games into events.
Who is Peter Rice?
Rice most recently oversaw Disney’s cable channels, news programming and coverage of major live sporting events. Before Disney, he held roles at 21st Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Netflix wants more live events and more sports. Rice has run big, live-heavy operations. He has also spent years managing large budgets inside legacy media.
Rice starts on October 26. Bajaria’s teams now face a leadership change just as layoffs settle in. Creators and agents will watch closely. Many deals were built on her personal ties.
Bajaria built part of Netflix’s modern identity. She helped make local-language hits global. She also helped push the company into live sports.
But growth has cooled, the stock has slid, and rivals like YouTube are gaining ground. Netflix has chosen a new content chief to answer those problems.
- Bela Bajaria
- Netflix
