Ryan Murphy, the tv megaproducer behind hits like “American Horror Story” and “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” is poised to maneuver his operation to the Walt Disney Firm, 5 years after he surprised Hollywood by decamping to Netflix for a $300 million deal.
The contract talks with Disney aren’t completed, in accordance with three individuals briefed on the matter, who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate personal negotiations. No deal is anticipated to be accomplished till after the screenwriters’ strike in Hollywood is resolved, one of many individuals stated. (Unionized movie and tv writers have been on strike since Might 1.)
However the talks between Mr. Murphy and Disney are superior, the individuals stated. Mr. Murphy’s contract with Netflix expires on the finish of the month. Renewal talks with Netflix by no means acquired off the bottom.
Representatives for Mr. Murphy, Disney and Netflix both declined to remark or didn’t return calls. Bloomberg reported Mr. Murphy’s possible transfer to Disney earlier on Tuesday.
A take care of Disney would formally reunite Mr. Murphy with executives he labored intently with for greater than a decade. Disney owns the FX cable channel, which is residence to his “American Horror Story” franchise, which began in 2011. (The sequence additionally runs on Hulu, which Disney controls.) ABC, the Disney-owned broadcast community, just lately purchased the rights to “9-1-1,” a drama that Mr. Murphy created for Fox in 2018.
When Mr. Murphy signed his Netflix deal, in February 2018, it was simply six months after one other star producer, Shonda Rhimes, had signed her personal nine-figure contract with the streaming firm. The back-to-back signings had been an emphatic assertion by Netflix that it was within the enterprise of paying any worth for big-name writers. Within the course of, it set off a Hollywood arms race (which, amid broader considerations about the streaming business and the writers’ strike, has principally cooled off).
Mr. Murphy’s tenure at Netflix acquired off to a bumpy begin. Misfires included “The Politician” and “Hollywood.” It was not till final September that Mr. Murphy served up bona fide hits in “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” and “The Watcher.” Each sequence are among the many 10 most-watched Netflix originals ever, in accordance with the streaming service.
Mr. Murphy, who continued making reveals for Disney despite the fact that he was underneath contract with Netflix — new seasons of “9-1-1” and “American Crime Story” continued apace — would likewise proceed to make reveals for Netflix after a transfer to Disney. The subsequent version of “Monster” will concentrate on Erik and Lyle Menéndez, the brothers serving life sentences for killing their rich dad and mom in 1989, and “The Watcher” has been renewed for an additional season.
