Ryan Murphy is leaving Netflix and heading to Disney for a rich new overall deal that he has been negotiating for the better part of a year.
Bloomberg broke the news, reporting that Murphy will reunite with Dana Walden, who was the head of 20th Century Fox TV when Murphy had a deal there as the producer of Glee and American Horror Story. She now serves as the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. Murphy would also reunite with his former FX boss John Landgraf, with whom he also made American Crime Story and Feud.
Murphy left 20th TV in 2018 to sign a five-year deal with Netflix that was said to be worth $300 million, making him one of the highest-paid creatives in all of Hollywood. Though Murphy got off to a slow start — anyone remember Hollywood or The Politician? — the deal has been more fruitful over the past year thanks to the terribly titled Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, which is expected to dominate at the Emmys this fall, as well as The Watcher, which proved popular with the streamer’s subscribers. Murphy co-created both shows with his longtime collaborator Ian Brennan.
During his time at Netflix, Murphy also directed the star-studded movie The Prom, and he produced acclaimed documentaries such as Circus of Books, A Secret Love, and Pray Away, in addition to award-winning limited such as Halston and Ratched, as well as adaptations of Mart Crowley‘s play The Boys in the Band and Stephen King‘s novella Mr. Harrigan’s Phone. Murphy is also said to be developing an adaptation of A Chorus Line at Netflix.
Murphy remains under contract at Netflix, though his departure is imminent. The prolific producer has opted to stay the course through the Writers Strike, as several of his shows have remained in production during the WGA’s standoff with the AMPTP, including American Horror Story (featuring Kim Kardashian).
Meanwhile, Murphy continues to develop a fourth season of American Crime Story, though it’s unclear whether it will focus on Studio 54 as previously reported, and he’s also producing American Sports Story (about Aaron Hernandez) and American Love Story (about the romance between JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette).
