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Netflix has struck a first-of-its-kind distribution agreement with TF1 that will give the streamer’s subscribers direct access to the French broadcaster’s channels and on-demand content.

Starting in 2026, Netflix subscribers in France will be able to watch leading scripted dramas like “Brocéliande” and “Erica,” soaps such as “Demain nous appartient” and “Ici tout commence,” unscripted franchises including “Koh-Lanta” and “The Voice,” and major live sporting events.

The titles will complement the streamer’s library of series and films, including French hits “Lupin,” “Nouvelle École” and “Ad Vitam,” as well as popular series such as “Squid Game” Season 3, “Stranger Things” Season 5 and “Wednesday” Season 2.

The landmark deal, which is the equivalent of a major American commercial network such as NBC or CBS handing over its output to Netflix, comes as the streamer continues to put pressure on the traditional linear TV business as it bolsters its live programming ambitions to help scale its advertising business.

Netflix and TF1 announced a new carriage deal, which will see Netflix offer live broadcasts and on-demand content from the French commercial broadcaster on Netflix in France. The deal, which kicks off in summer 2026, will include TF1’s French free-to-air channels as well as its TF1+ streaming offerings.

The deal marks a major development in Netflix’s strategy in France. Alongside high-end French dramas like Broceliande and Erica, TF1’s offerings include daily soaps (Demain nous appartient, Ici tout commence), reality-tv programming, shiny floor shows such as The Voice and live sports coverage. Adding that programming to its in-house offerings marks a further evolution for the streamer, which is moving to broaden its audience appeal as its penetration in France nears saturation levels, and matches, or tops, that of free-to-air national broadcasters.

Netflix has a similar near-saturation position across most of Europe, and it will be interesting to see if...

Galvanized by pre-sales to France, Germany and Spain on awaited Icelandic crime series “Reykjavik Fusion,” Erik Barmack’s ahead of the game L.A-based Wild Sheep Content has boarded “Good Bones,” a New Zealand murder mystery series.

Wild Sheep by Barmack, a former Netflix head of international originals with oversight over “The Witcher,” “Casa de Papel,” “Kingdom” and “Sacred Games,” will co-produce “Good Bones,” with Luminous Beast.

One of New Zealand most in-demand new production companies Luminous Beast burst on the scene with Sky Originals series “INSiDE,” a 2021 International Emmy winner, and then “After the Party,” picked up by the U.K.’s Channel 4, and whose lead performance by Robyn Malcom was hailed by The Guardian as “among the best television portrayals in years, from anywhere in the world.”

Backed by The Mediapro Studio, Wild Sheep will also handle international distribution.

“Good Bones” is now funded by Sky New Zealand and Wild Sheep Content.

For some people, the holiday season calls for hauling luggage and booking flights all to spend time with your family. For others, the same amount of effort is put into getting as far away as they conceivably can. Netflix's new Our Little Secret taps into the family drama we prefer to avoid over Christmas, particularly all the pressures and expectations that come along with meeting your in-laws. While we watch Kristin Chenoweth's Erica play up the frosty atmosphere as the overbearing matriarch of the family, it reminds us of when Vince Vaughn's Brad and Reese Witherspoon's Kate tried to flee their familial duties by heading over to Fiji 16 years ago. Failing to do so, the couple are forced to meet their respective divorced parents and their relatives, leading to the festive embroilments we know as Four Christmases.