Ryan Murphy Set to Bolt Netflix, Join Disney

Ryan Murphy
Ryan Murphy (Image credit: Photo by Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)

Ryan Murphy bolted Fox for Netflix in 2018, one of several mega-producers, Shonda Rhimes along with him, who signed eye-popping $300 million-plus deals with the subscription streaming giant at the time. 

Now, it looks like Murphy is returning to the former Fox studio. According to numerous published reports (we'll cite Bloomberg), Murphy has no plans to re-up his expiring five-year deal with Netflix and is instead negotiating with The Walt Disney Co., now corporate home to the 21st Century Studios and FX brands, upon which Murphy first built his own powerful brand with hits like Glee and American Horror Story

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At Disney, Ryan would be reunited with Disney Entertainment co-chair Dana Walden, who headed 20th Century Fox Television when the producer was on the lot. 

Disney acquired Fox's entertainment studios and other assets, including the FX cable brand, in 2019. 

Murphy is coming off a prolific year for Netflix, hoisting back to back hits last fall — Dahmer-Portrait of a Serial Killer and The Watcher. Both limited series wound up on Netflix's ranking of all-time best 28-day openings for English language TV shows. Netflix is in the process of expanding Dahmer into a full franchise of limited series based on serial killers.  

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!