Documentaries about women only focus on 'victims and prostitutes', says Netflix executive

Kate Townsend, Netflix's vice president of documentaries, said the company needs to expand its storytelling around women's stories. Photo: David M. Bennett

One of the top managers of Netflix said that documentaries are made about women only if they are «victims and prostitutes.»

Kate Townsend, vice president of Netflix on documentaries, said that women are often portrayed accurately. in TV dramas, but distorted in real shows.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Ms Townsend said: “It's just a story from the old days. It's just victims and prostitutes and we need to expand on that.

“Just women doing shit would be great. Women are sometimes bad.”

Netflix is ​​pouring huge sums of money into documentaries as it fights to retain subscribers amid a cost-of-living crisis and fierce competition in the streaming market.

Earlier this year, the company announced a new multi-part series about BBC host Jill Dando who was shot to death near his home in west London in 1999.

Recent commissioned documentaries include pop star Lewis Capaldi and At Home with Fury, which explore the family life of a heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury.

Netflix has invested heavily in making documentaries, but has been criticized for its lack of female-focused stories. Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Other projects in the pipeline include a show about David Beckham and Robbie. Williams.

Adam Hawkins, head of Netflix's UK documentary series team, said: “What do they have in common? Well, they are men, so we would love to have iconic British women.”

Ms. Townsend insisted that Netflix has invested heavily in female talent, as women now make up almost half of the company's documentary filmmakers.

However, she said being on screen, «reflecting the diversity of what women are actually into,» was more of a challenge.

The Netflix duo said they didn't want to create programs that glorify individuals, but rather look «under the skin» of individuals.

Ms Townsend said: “If they just have such a steady growth trajectory, it's not interesting. There must have been some tense moments in their lives.”

The comments provide a rare insight into the commissioning tactics of Netflix, which is often evasive about how it chooses programs and how well they perform.< /p>

The executives responded to claims that the company uses an algorithm to determine how to book a show, calling it a «myth.»

Mr Hawkins said: «Of course, it's always human solution. is. Obviously, we look at what has done well and what hasn't done well in the past, but we're just like everyone else — only people make decisions.»

Last month, Netflix reported a sharp increase in the number subscribers. figures after anti-password crackdowns began to pay off.

The streaming service reported a 5.9 million increase in subscriptions in Europe, more than doubling analysts' forecasts and pushing the company to a record number of subscribers.< /p>