Oooh Happy Da-ay!

[shapinglight]

Netflix have picked up Lucifer.

The cast and writers are on Twitter thanking the fans for saving the show.



I'm really pleased of course, though also a little confuzzled. I'd thought it was Amazon that was more likely to pick up Lucifer, but instead Netlix have done it.

Either way, I'm grateful, and glad that there'll be (hopefully) a proper resolution to that cliffhanger, and the hopes of a shorter, tighter season (more like season 1) with :fingers crossed: less of the boring procedural stuff and a proper ending, just in case Netflix decide it was a waste of money after season 4 and don't renew it again.

I'm also a little unsure whether this means Netflix will also air the show in Europe, where currently Amazon have the streaming rights. Was it maybe this (negotiating the streaming rights) that the boss of Amazon was talking about in a recent interview rather than picking up the show?

Time will tell, I suppose, just like it will with whether The Expanse, which is currently streamed by Netflix outside the US, will now be on Amazon in Europe, since Amazon have picked up the show.

Great news anyway. Thank you so much to the Lucifans group, who have been tweeting up a storm for a solid month now. I really don't think this would have happened without them.

So the end of the TV season bloodbath has turned out to be not so bad for me after all. Only The Americans is gone for good and that ended as scheduled. Legion got renewed despite the terrible ratings and The Expanse and Lucifer have been saved. Also, I'm forty five minutes into the Sense8 two hour finale and so far it's looking good. Maybe I won't give up on TV fandoms just yet after all

Comments

[shadowkat]

YAY! Some good news after a rather depressing news week.

Thanks for sharing. This is much better than it staying on Fox. Netflix is a far better choice for the show.

[ETA: I thought you were watching this via Netflix not Amazon? Anyhow, further in the article they discuss how Hulu had SDOV rights and it was the renegotiation and sale of the first three seasons to Netflix that held it up. You can do that. Rights have an expiration date and an option. Amazon probably was given the option to renew if they chose to pick up the show, they passed, so the package was sent to Netflix with the option to get full SDOV rights (I'm not sure what that stands for, but I'm guessing secondary distribution rights, which means after initial airing. Netflix may want exclusive with all the seasons on it's platform solely.) A lot of studios sell primary distribution, secondary distribution, foreign, and exclusive deals. Example? You can air on Fox -- first airing, secondary distribution to say Hulu (second airing, about a day after it airs on Fox), foreign to Netflix or Amazon. Or primary - sole airing Netflix, with foreign staying on Amazon. If you think television distribution rights is complicated, you should see video games...it's worse. (I didn't realize this until I worked for a video game company that specialized in rights distribution.)

[shapinglight]

Netflix is a far better choice for the show.

I agree. I do hope it changes it in some ways - ie. darker, more adult, maybe less emphasis on the procedural stuff. However, Netflix may want it to stay exactly the same, who knows?

I thought you were watching this via Netflix not Amazon?

No. Up to now Amazon have shown it in the UK. However, in other parts of Europe it's on Netflix. Very confusing.

Thanks for the explanation about SDOVs. I was pretty unclear what those were, except that they were something to do with streaming rights.

[shadowkat]

I do hope it changes it in some ways - ie. darker, more adult, maybe less emphasis on the procedural stuff. However, Netflix may want it to stay exactly the same, who knows?

Unlikely. Procedurals don't work that well on streaming -- mainly because why would you binge a procedural? There's no cliff-hanger. Netflix is set up for binge watching. It's really hard to watch one episode at a time. And when they try the episodic model, it fails on the service.

Also, I watched LONGMIRE on both A&E and Netflix. Gave up on it on A&E, it was a procedural and very episodic. But once it jumped over to NETFLIX, it turned into a serial and went really dark. And that was a series based on a series of episodic mystery novels that were basically procedural thrillers, about a sheriff in Montana and his Native American friend who solved mysteries. They changed it from the books, by expanding on the Native American character's role and making a lot darker and more serialized -- mainly because it was on netflix.

If it had landed on Amazon or something else -- yeah, I'd say it would be more light procedural. But not Netflix.

Yeah, streaming rights is basically just secondary distribution rights. Although if the series is sold to Netflix and they become the producing partner and primary airer, than that whole thing changes. Secondary rights are foreign distribution.
So you could still get it via Amazon. But the people watching it via Hulu? Won't get it any longer since Hulu is a direct competitor in the domestic market. But people in the UK and elsewhere could legitimately get it via Itunes or Amazon.

[shapinglight]

But people in the UK and elsewhere could legitimately get it via Itunes or Amazon.

Well, we'll find out in time, I suppose. We may well continue to get The Expanse from Netflix too, I guess.

As for the show staying the same or changing, a new interview with the showrunners suggests they expect more of the former than the latter.

[tinny]

my friend works for dvd licensing, and she says that's a mess, too. (In Europe, though.)

So what does that mean for my first three seasons of Lucifer that I've already bought from Amazon? Isn't Netflix's "exclusive" deal usually that you have to watch it on Netflix and nowhere else? I can imagine that this can get endlessly complicated.

[shadowkat]

If you've already purchased them, they are yours. It doesn't work retroactively. It would only affect future payments, assuming Netflix goes exclusive. Same with iTunes -- if you purchase something, it's yours. You own the item for your own use and enjoyment. However, you do not have the right to sell or trade it, or share it commercially. Same rights as purchasing a song, album, e-book, or DVD.

[yourlibrarian]

Oh I'm so happy for you! Well perhaps Amazon's interest is what tipped Netflix's hand?

You're right that these things are complicated though given that overseas rights can be very different from domestic ones and second-run ones. Wouldn't it be funny if they did a trade with these two shows?

Hee! Glad your faith has been restored. You're right, given your list there's really every reason for feeling good about fandom.

[shapinglight]

Well perhaps Amazon's interest is what tipped Netflix's hand?

It may be, or possibly both streaming services were in the picture right from the start? I'll keep an eye on the showrunners' Twitter feeds to see if they reveal anything.

You're right, given your list there's really every reason for feeling good about fandom.

I know! I feel so lucky. I don't even mind of there's only one more season of the show as long as Modrovitch and Henderson have learned their lesson about not ending on a cliffhanger.

[ex_peasant441]

Modified rapture.

If it is only on Netflix in the UK I will have to wait for the DVD release, but I am glad for you.

[shapinglight]

If it is only on Netflix in the UK I will have to wait for the DVD release, but I am glad for you.

Why? You said you were thinking of giving up your Amazon subscription. You could get a Netflix one instead. Then you'd get to see Lucifer and The Good Place, which you said you'd like to see.

You wouldn't have to keep the subscription up indefinitely, especially if Netflix do what they usually do with their original shows and release all the episodes at once.

Also, it's possible there'll be no DVD. Netflix don't seem to bother with them much.

[tinny]

Oh, I should have just checked your journal before anything else last night, and I would have known. :D

Netflix means I won't be able to buy Lucifer anymore in season 4. Dang. Oh, well.

I am very happy to hear they have been picked up, though. That is really good news!

[shapinglight]

and I would have known. :D

I am pretty obsessive, aren't I? ;)

Netflix means I won't be able to buy Lucifer anymore in season 4. Dang. Oh, well.

Really? Why is that?

[tinny]

Because I'm boycotting them? Basically, they're too expensive for me.

I am okay with buying exactly the shows I am watching on demand, but paying a monthly fee is not my thing.

[shapinglight]

I'm sorry to hear that. They do have a huge amount of great content. Hopefully, the price will come down at some point.

[tinny]

The content is different in every country. Here, they only have their own self-produced shows. For everything else, the newest season is usually not available, and thus it's definitely not worth paying the price for the one or two Netflix shows I actually watch.

[shapinglight]

Weird how it's so different everywhere. I know that Netflix already show Lucifer in Sweden, for instance, whereas here in the UK, it's currently on Amazon. Either way you have to pay to watch it, of course.

[lutein]

According to the tweet below, Amazon in Germany and Austria will have season 4!

https://twitter.com/PrimeVideoDE/status/1046727677925715968

[tinny]

OOoh, thank you! That's some very important information! <3

People seem to be very confused and also angry in that twitter thread, seeing as Netflix saved the show, not Amazon.

But I'm not going to get Netflix no matter what, so I'm happy I can still watch Lucifer on Amazon like before. (And I got the last season pass at half-price, so it was amazingly cheap, too. :))

[shapinglight]

Pleased to hear this. I'm glad you'll still be able to watch Lucifer.

Must say, I wish I knew who would be showing season 4 in the UK. Still no news on that.

[lyr]

When I heard about this, I thought of you first thing. I'm really glad it got saved, but I was even happier thinking about how relieved you'd be.

[shapinglight]

Thank you so much. That's so kind of you. :Hugs: