How the Emmys Made Netflix’s Very Good Week Even Better
When the Emmy nominations were announced on Thursday, there were any number of people who were hoping Netflix’s already excellent week would end with a fizzle.
The old school broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox), HBO, Amazon, Hulu, AMC, BBC America and FX all had shows that were widely admired and due for recognition at the annual awards extravaganza.
Netflix, on the other hand, was coming off the widely panned season of “House of Cards,” the critically admired but little-seen “Bloodline” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and the domestic flop of its $90 million historical epic, “Marco Pollo.” Additionally, “Orange Is the New Black,” which had a strong third season both in terms of reviews and ratings, was forced by a change in the Emmy rules to submit as a drama rather than a comedy, putting it up against more hard-hitting dramatic programs.
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As it turns out, Netflix’s very good week would keep going with a record setting 34 nominations. This is dwarfed by HBO’s 127 nominations, but this is a remarkable number for the streaming service nevertheless.
The shower of nominations came on the end of a week in which Netflix stock price continued to climb at a rapid pace, making it the single best performing stock in the S&P 500 this year. Netflix continues to grow rapidly, adding 900,000 domestic users in Q2 and a staggering 2.4 million users internationally, widely exceeding expectations of 6000,000 and 1.9 million, respectively.
If there is a downside, it is that Netflix is unlikely to actually WIN in any of the major Emmy categories. The beloved series “Mad Men” and “Parks and Recreation” should have a lock on the comedy and drama awards (and if Jonathan Banks of “Better Call Saul” doesn’t win besting supporting actor in a drama, there will be riots!). But for Netflix, it is still an honor just to be nominated.
The streaming giant will not be resting on its laurels. Coming on the back of its critically-acclaimed and bone-crunching adaptation of “Daredevil,” the company will be teaming up with Marvel again for three more shows. Netflix will also be amping up its feature film division with debuts from “True Detective” director Cary Fukunaga and an action movie starring Brad Pitt.
The company may walk away empty handed when they hand out the golden statues on September 20th, but for the time being, everything is coming up Netflix.
Will Trump's Tax Cuts Really Happen? Economists Are Surprisingly Optimistic
Despite all the thorny questions swirling around President Trump's nascent tax reform plan, 29 of 38 economists surveyed by Bloomberg in a monthly poll said they expect Congress to cut taxes by November of next year.
The hitch: The economists don’t expect the cuts will help the economy much. The median projection of a larger group of 71 economists is for 2018 growth of 2.3 percent, up only slightly from 2.1 percent this year — and by 2019, the economists see growth slipping back to 2 percent.
