Netflix greenlights four major dramas, strikes new talent deals at upfront
Bela Bajaria at the Netflix upfront
Netflix
Netflix revealed during its 2026 upfront presentation that it has ordered four major new drama series including a medieval fantasy from A+E Studios and a sports drama pairing Harlan Coben with David E Kelley, while also forging and extending several key talent deals.
A+E Studios drama Barbarians is based on the Vault Comic of the same name about a ruthless and crass barbarian who is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him on a road of self-discovery, redemption and revenge.
The project is led by showrunners Sheldon Turner (Up In The Air, X-Men First Class) and Robert Rovner (Supergirl), with other exec producers including Jennifer Klein and A+E Studios’ Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson.
The streaming giant also greenlit Myron Bolitar, a series inspired by Coben’s popular collection of novels, with Kelley and Kyle Long co-showrunning, writing and executive producing. The show follows a man who reinvents himself as a sports agent after injury ends his dream of playing in the NBA.
In addition to the series order, Netflix revealed it is extending its creative partnership with Coben. To date, Coben stories adapted for the screen on Netflix include Safe, The Woods, The Innocent, Gone for Good, Stay Close, Hold Tight, The Stranger and Missing You. Kelley, meanwhile, has previously collaborated with Netflix on Anatomy of a Scandal, A Man in Full and The Lincoln Lawyer.
Netflix commissioned an adaptation of New York Times podcast The Retrievals, about a woman’s crusade against Yale Fertility Center after she and almost 100 other women were operated on without anesthesia because a nurse stole their fentanyl. The project is produced by LuckyChap and Quiet Coyote, with Molly Smith Metzler (Maid, Sirens, Shameless) showrunning.
Netflix also greenlit a new young-adult drama from Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen. Calabasas is set in an elite private school and follows the headmaster’s ambitious daughter, who is destined to have it all until she’s swept into a forbidden romance with the one boy determined to burn down her glittering world instead of play by its rules. It is inspired by Via Bleidner’s book If You Lived Here You’d Be Famous by Now: True Stories from Calabasas.
Van Dusen, whose other credits include Scandal and Grey’s Anatomy, is showrunner and executive produces alongside Kim Kardashian, Alexandra Milchan and Emma Roberts. Calabasas is the first project to be produced under a new creative partnership that will see Van Dusen developing and exec producing scripted series exclusively for Netflix.
Elsewhere, Netflix handed renewals to Love is Blind (season 11), My Life With the Walter Boys (S4), Quarterback (S3) and Running Point (S3).
Comedy thriller series Big Mistakes, which is created, exec produced and stars Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek), also earned a season-two renewal. In addition, Netflix agreed a first-look deal with Levy, succeeding the overall deal it signed with the Canadian creator in 2021.
Elsewhere, Netflix revealed that its legal drama The Lincoln Lawyer will end with its fifth season, which has just started production in LA.
During the upfront presentation, chief content officer Bela Bajaria noted that Netflix would be launching 40 US shows this year, with 27 of them being returners.
The streamer has also extended its live sports rights deal with the NFL, adding three more games to its existing Christas Day offering.
It will carry the LA Rams vs San Francisco 49ers game from Melbourne in September, the sport’s first trip to Australia, and an unspecified week 18 game, which is the final day of the regular season. The Green Bay Packers game against the LA Rams the night before Thanksgiving is also going to Netflix.
