Just this past weekend, Netflix pulled back the curtain on Sofia Coppola’s loosey-goosey Christmas special with Bill Murray, A Very Murray Christmas. Within the past couple of months alone, the streaming-video giant has also been the exclusive distributor of a W/ Bob & David — a four-episode revival of sketch-comedy series Mr. Show — full seasons of critically-acclaimed series Master of None and Jessica Jones, new comedy specials from John Mulaney and Anthony Jeselnik, and their first-ever real live feature film, Beasts of No Nation. It’s been Netflix’s biggest year ever — let’s not forget Daredevil, Sense8, Narcos, Bloodline, the Wet Hot American Summer revival, and new seasons of Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, and a host of others — but the 2016 that Netflix has planned will make this all look like small streaming potatoes.
In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Netflix head Ted Sarandos has declared that the streaming platform will release 31 scripted shows next year, almost doubling their current 2015 count of 16 scripted programs. Sarandos’ quotes tease a staggering library of upcoming material, with the Head of Content hinting at “10 feature films, 30 kids’ shows, 12 documentaries, and 10 stand-up specials.” Imagine it: a world where we’d never have to go more than two weeks without something new on Netflix.
Related: The 50 Best Movies On Netflix, Ranked
One of the biggest lures of Netflix’s original content library has been the standard of quality. For the most part (big exceptions made for the new Rob Schneider comedy vehicle Real Rob and preemptive exceptions for the upcoming Adam Sandler movie The Ridiculous Six), Netflix’s original programming has held up to critical scrutiny, with Aziz Ansari’s Master of None and Marvel’s next-level Jessica Jones ranking among the most celebrated shows of the year. With such an increased workload of new content, some may fear that Netflix’s high bar would be lowered a smidgen. Sarandos thinks otherwise, quoted as saying, “It’s not just a lot of volume, this is quality stuff.”
In related news, TV network executives have reported a slight queasy feeling in the pits of their stomachs.
