Netflix reportedly took a $39 million write-down for its fiscal fourth quarter due to the cancellation of two Kevin Spacey projects, Deadline reports. CFO David Wells revealed the company’s write-down during an earnings interview, but did not outright say the money lost was because of Spacey’s ongoing sexual harassment scandals. Sources close to the issue have told Deadline, however, said the money was indeed tied up in the final episodes of House of Cards and Spacey’s Gore Vidal biopic, Gore.
On the call, Wells explained that write-downs were a normal part of the business, Netflix just “hadn’t had one of this magnitude.” Wells said the decision “related to the societal reset around sexual harassment, so it was somewhat unusual in that respect.”
According to Variety, the period biopic on writer Gore Vidal had already wrapped and is now seemingly shelved indefinitely. The final season of House of Cards has been moved from its usual order of 13 episodes to eight. Additionally, it’s possible that some of the losses Netflix is soaking up were put into a canceled Louis C.K. special after the comedian admitted to multiple instances of sexual misconduct last fall.
As The Hollywood Reporter points out, the removal of Danny Masterson from The Ranch after multiple women accused him of sexual assault would not have contributed to this loss.
