Although Netflix is currently producing some of the most popular and buzz-worthy TV currently out there, the company’s co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings sees a need to diversify.
At the Wall Street Journal‘s WSJD event, Hastings stated that in the future, movies and TV shows will wane in popularity and become “like the opera and the novel.” Inevitably, posited Hastings, “substitutes” will arise to replace TV and movies just as they replaced their popular culture predecessors.
Exactly what those substitutes might be is a question that Netflix is working to answer, said Hastings, though he did have one idea to put forth: drugs.
One potential substitute for movies? Netflix's @reedhastings muses on the "pharmacological," like a pill that entertains you. #WSJDLive
— WSJ Tech (@WSJTech) October 25, 2016
Hastings said one substitute could be “pharmacological.” Though this may seem like a form of entertainment that’s already available, the Netflix brand of pharmacological entertainment would presumably be much safer and family-friendly than what’s currently on the (black) market.
While this idea may never see the light of day, it’s a good indication of just how open-minded the Netflix boss is when it comes to shepherding his brand into the future.
Related: Netflix says its going $3 billion in debt to make more original series
